


Twister

by Neveroutoftime



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: All Human, F/M, Twister ! AU, bamon end game, belvafore, i don't know what to tag, steroline, steroline end game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-04-05 09:44:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4175175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neveroutoftime/pseuds/Neveroutoftime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the movie Twister. Caroline Forbes and Stefan Salvatore have gone through a divorce. And not a pleasant one either, but after all of it he has moved on with a new girl, and it seems like nothing will bring them together. The unsigned divorce papers, and the former couple's tornado studying machine Dorothy say otherwise. Over the course of a day the two work together for what seems like the last time to get their creation to fly before their competing scientist, Katherine Pierce, can get hers in the air first. But after one intense day, is it really the last time they chase together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

It was a hot day in June of 1974 when the tornado watch was issued. No one thought anything of it. Out in their small Oklahoma town they knew how to behave around a twister. They knew that the moment things got bad they'd be hiding in their basements or cellars waiting for it to pass, and praying it didn't damage their house or livestock—if they possessed it.

The Forbes family spent that day outside, pushing their five year old daughter Caroline on a swing. She was a beautiful girl, with long, flowing blonde hair, pale skin, and gorgeous blue green eyes. 

Her mother, Liz Forbes smiled in delight as her daughter screamed, "Again! Again!" Swinging higher and higher until she reached a point that seemed unsafe to Liz. 

"Stop worrying, she'll be fine," her father whispered into her mother's ear. 

Would she? A voice in the back of Liz's head asked. Would Caroline be fine? What if she swung so high she went upside down and hit her head on the bar? What if she swung too far and fell off the swing and broke her arm? What if? What if? What if?

A smile lit up her face as she watched Caroline slow down, "I know," she told her husband, planting a kiss on his cheek, "She's strong."

That night, Caroline lay in bed with her dog, Joey. Her fingers brushing through the small dog's fur as she sighed restlessly. She just couldn't sleep, especially not when there was a thunderstorm raging right outside her window.

A bolt of lightning lit her room briefly, allowing her a glimpse at her frightened reflection in the mirror. She was scared. She knew she shouldn't be, that she should be strong, like her mother had taught her, but some things are easier said than done. 

In an attempt to calm herself, she listened quietly to the faint buzzing sound of the television in the family room downstairs. The background noise quickly began to put her to sleep, and drowned out the sound of the terrible thunder outside. 

What she didn't know was that the tornado watch had become a tornado warning. Nor did she hear the distant sound of what resembled a train on tracks. She slowly began to fall asleep. 

Suddenly, her peaceful almost sleep was interrupted by her mother opening her bedroom door, filling her room with light from the hallway. "Caroline? Come on," she said hurriedly, turning on a light switch on Caroline's wall.

"What is it, mommy?" She asked sleepily, not wanting to leave her bed. 

"Come on sweetie, come on," her  
Mother urged. 

Caroline could hear her father running up the stairs, and her eyes opened fully, she was now wide awake. 

"It's okay," her mother whispered in her ear as she picked Caroline up, "come on, let's go!"

Her father burst into the room next, "We need to get to the cellar!" He exclaimed, "The storm's over us right now. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

"Mommy?" Caroline asked confusedly as her mother carried her out of the room. Her mother simply shushed her in response, rushing them both down the stairs as quickly as she could. 

"Don't be scared, Caroline," Liz said, louder now, as she had to almost shout over the whistling winds, "I've got you, I've got you."

The sound of the wind intensified as they neared the front door, and Caroline slowly began to realize why she'd been dragged out of bed. There was a tornado nearby. 

Her heart started racing. Despite having been raised to stay calm in this situation (a common possibility in the Midwest), she was panicking. The sound of the thunder crashing around her didn't help either. 

"T.V says it's big," her father panted, "Might be an F5."

An f5? Caroline didn't know much about tornadoes, but an F5 was something she'd only heard about in stories her friends told at school. It was supposedly the scariest twister imaginable. It could destroy anything in its path, including Caroline and her family.

And her dog... 

"Joey!" Caroline cried, hearing her little Yorkie bark, "Joey!"

Her mother held her more tight against her chest as her father threw the front door open. 

They ran out into the storm, lightning flashing around them, and thunder booming as they approached the storm cellar. The noise of the approaching twister on top of all that made it almost impossible to hear anything else, whether it was her dog barking as he ran behind them, or Liz's heavy breathing.

"Give her to me!" Bill cried, reaching his arms out to Liz who gave Caroline over without question. "Let's go!"

Liz and bill ran, ignoring Caroline's cries for Joey. They didn't stop running until the door to the storm cellar was in sight, and Bill set Caroline on the ground so he could open it. 

Lightning struck a power line by a tree, causing sparks to fly outwards in a small explosion that horrified Caroline. 

This is it, she thought, I'm going to die at five years old. 

Liz threw her arms around Caroline as her husband worked to open the door. "Shh, shhh," she whispered into her daughter's ear, "It'll be alright."

Bill threw the door open, "Come on! Get inside! Hurry!"

The family rushed down the ladder, and Liz closed the cellar door behind them. The storm raged on above them, though quieter now that they were underground. 

Suddenly they could hear the faint sound of a dog barking. "Joey!" Caroline cried, "Daddy, you forgot Joey!"

Bill immediately rushed back up the steps, and opened the cellar door. "Come on! Come on let's move!" He cried as the small dog ran down the cellar steps. He then closed the door, and ran back to his family. 

As her dog ran into her arms, Caroline smiled, "Shhh, Joey it's okay," she whispered, feeling the dog shaking in her arms. 

In the corner of the room, Liz lit a match, and then lit the lantern that provided their only source of light in the cellar as Bill locked the door. She shook the match to smother the flame, then sat beside her daughter and Joey. Her husband immediately followed, wrapping his arms around them both. 

Lightning crashed ahead, and the sound of the howling wind grew louder and louder. The F5 tornado was nearly on top of them. 

It was then that the cellar door began to shake, threatening to break off its hinges and allow the twister to suck them into its monstrous funnel. Liz stood, holding Caroline and herself against the wall. "It's okay, sweetie," she whispered, trying to calm herself more than her daughter, "It's okay."

Meanwhile Bill rushed up the steps again, and clutched the door handle tightly in an attempt to keep his family safe. "Keep Caroline safe!" He shouted. 

The door shook even more violently, light from the lightning seeping in through the cracks in the door. Bill began to groan under the effort it took to keep the door still. "I can't hold it!" He cried, looking back at his family, "Oh god!"

Caroline looked up at the sky through the small window in the door, and watched as lightning lit up the twister that was now on top of them. It almost fascinated her. And it would have if it hadn't been so terrifying. 

"I can't hold it anymore!" Bill shouted, looking his wife in the eyes. He could see the terrified expression on her face, she was more scared than he was. This woman, the only woman he'd never seen cry, looked scared, like she was about to cry. Like she knew what was about to happen. 

Caroline stepped away from the wall, watching her father struggle against the door. She could see the pain and fear on his face, and it terrified her. Was her father going to be okay? Would he live? Would he come back down those steps and say "just kidding everything is fine"? She doubted it. 

The glass in the door shattered at that moment, some of the shards slicing her father's face. He screamed loudly as the door was finally ripped off its hinges, and the twister sucked him out of the cellar, and into its swirling blackness. 

"No!" Liz screamed, feeling a tear streak down her face only to be blown away by the strong winds. 

"Daddy!" Caroline cried, running towards the steps only to be stopped by Liz, who had quickly reached out for the grieving five year old. 

"Caroline no!" Liz cried. 

"Daddy!"

"Caroline stop!"

Caroline wouldn't stop. She couldn't. She'd just seen her father get taken from her by a monster she'd only ever heard of. He was gone, and she'd never see him again. 

Caroline screamed until the twister was over, and the silence deafened her screams. Her mother simply held her in her arms for a moment afterwards, and shushed her into sleep. 

When Caroline woke up, she was in a different house, with nothing she recognized surrounding her. She didn't know where her mom was and her dad—he was gone. 

He hadn't just left for a few days for work, or gone to see family in another town. He was truly gone. He was dead. 

His funeral was two days later, after they'd located his body, and made proper arrangements for it. Half the town showed up to mourn their loss, which provided Caroline no comfort. She simply wanted to be left alone, and she suspected Liz felt similarly, but didn't want to be rude. 

In the years after her father's death, Caroline drew inspiration from the dark thing that had happened to her. When she grew up, she got a degree in meteorology, and studied weather. Her end goal was to become a storm chaser and study tornadoes, learn what made them tick so she could prevent anyone else from suffering what she had suffered. 

When she was at college, she met someone who shared the same goal. His name was Stefan Salvatore. He'd grown up in a town miles from Caroline, and was inspired by the same things she was. Like her, tornadoes fascinated him, yet terrified him simultaneously. However, he hadn't actually experienced one. 

"You wouldn't want to," Caroline said once as they walked across campus together. 

Stefan raised an eyebrow at her, "How come?" He asked. 

She sighed, and then he remembered. It was a tornado that had killed her father many years earlier. An F5 to be exact. 

He took her hand, "I'm sorry," he whispered, "That was rude, and— and ignorant."

"It's fine, Stefan."

"You sure?"

A nod of her head was all it took to convince him that it wasn't really fine, then he led her to a bench underneath an oak tree. A bench that had become their bench in freshman year. It was where they'd meet or hang out, or plot evil plans together. It was theirs. 

"Caroline," he started, "I know you."

"And I know you."

"Very funny."

"I minor in humor."

He laughed, and squeezed her hand, "Caroline, what I'm trying to say is, that it's obvious you're hurting. I know what happened to you. You were only five, and that's bound to leave a mark on someone," he said, "especially when they're that young." 

She sighed, and looked away from him, "He's the reason I want to do this."

"I know."

"A part of me feels like, if I chase the thing that killed him, I won't feel so terrible anymore. If I find a way to stop that from ever happening again—"

"Caroline," he breathed, placing a hand on her cheek. 

Her heart beat faster, and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She mentally slapped herself. 

He toyed with her hair for a moment, and smiled, then his expression grew serious, "If you ever feel upset about what happened, I promise I will be here for you. Even if it's the middle of the night and I'm in nothing but my boxers— don't laugh! I'm serious! I will be there for you."

Caroline's smile slowly appeared on her face, and she leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you, Stefan," she breathed, wrapping her arms around him, "Thank you so much." 

After that, their relationship changed. Both of them having developed feelings for the other were pushed to admit said feelings by their friends and fellow tornado fanatics. They became a couple just a month after he'd made the promise to be there for her, and for the first time in a long time, Caroline was happy. 

It was a year later in June of 1990 that Stefan asked Caroline to marry him. They had just graduated from college that evening, and Stefan was asking her to marry him, right there in her living room, surrounded by all of their friends and soon to be colleagues. 

She froze for a moment, then screamed, "YES! YES! YES!" Over and over again as he slid a beautiful blue and white diamond ring onto her finger, then he stood up, and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

A year after that, on the twenty first of June 1991, Stefan and Caroline got married. 

She was nervous as she prepared to walk down the altar, her off-white dress with lace sleeves suddenly seeming like the heaviest thing on the planet. By her side was her maid of honor and second best friend (Stefan being the first) Bonnie Bennett, yet another person who'd been with her all of the way. 

"You can do this," Bonnie murmured as Liz approached them in a silky violet dress that clung tightly to her body. Since Caroline's father had died fifteen years earlier, it was Liz who was walking her daughter down the aisle, and she was proud to do it too. 

"I know," Caroline told her friend, "I'm just nervous."

Bonnie laughed, "Alright, Mrs. Nervous," she said, "See you at the end of the aisle." Caroline's friend then vanished through the door, and the opening chords to "here comes the bride" began to play on a guitar, since Caroline absolutely hated the sound of an organ. 

Liz stepped in front of her daughter, "You ready to spend the rest of your life chasing tornadoes with him?" She asked. 

Caroline nodded, and wiped a year of joy away from her made up eye, "If I'm being honest there's no one else I'd rather do it with," she said, "Maybe Bonnie and Damon sometimes, but... He's the one who encouraged me to do this, and promised me he'd always be there..."

"Then go get him," Liz whispered, offering her arm to her daughter, who laughed and accepted it. 

They strolled down the aisle together. All eyes locked on Caroline as she floated gracefully down the aisle like an angel. 

The ceremony was everything Caroline dreamed it would be, Stefan nearly cried as he said his vows, she nearly cried as she said hers, he looked at her like she was his world, and he kissed her like there was no tomorrow. 

When he pulled away, he leaned down toward her ear, "I told you I'd always be here for you," he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. 

For a while, he kept his promise. They chased together, they nearly died together, and they came up with new ideas on how to learn about the mysterious force that was tornadoes together. Through it all he remained by her side, and never let go. 

It all changed in 1994. They suddenly fought constantly, and eventually, Stefan and Caroline sought out a divorce. They just couldn't do it anymore. 

By the time they received their papers, they became friends again, but it was too late, Stefan had stopped chasing with her, and he had broken his promise. He wasn't there for her anymore. He moved on, and met a new woman, Elena Gilbert. 

Stefan and Elena hit it off immediately, but he didn't fall in love with her as hard as he had fallen for Caroline. Deep down, they both knew the other wasn't the one, but they ignored that. They were both alone, and relied on each other to get through their pain. 

Months after they met, they were engaged. Elena popped the question first one night over dinner at her place. Stefan had nearly choked on his food, "What?" He'd asked. 

"I asked you to marry me," Elena said, smiling shyly at him. 

He laughed, "Yes," he said, "I would gladly marry you, but there's one thing we've got to take care of first."

"And what's that?"

"I still haven't finalized my divorce with Caroline."

"... Oh..."

Elena sat in silence for a moment, "How come?" She asked. 

He shrugged, "The court put it off for a while, and They only recently sent me the papers. I sent them to her last week, she says she signed them."

"That's good," Elena said, taking Stefan's hand, "It means you can move on."

He smiled at her, "I'm meeting her tomorrow, she's giving me the papers," he replied, "You want to come with me?"

Elena nodded, "I'd love to," she replied, leaning over and kissing him gently. As soon as she pulled away, she was grinning, "Now should we put away the dishes, or go straight to the bedroom?"

He thought for a moment, "The dishes," he said, then he received a light smack from his fiancé, "The bedroom."

"Yes sir," Elena replied, standing up and leading him into the bedroom with a smug look on her face. 

His smile stayed plastered on his face as they left the table, and headed for the bedroom. He had no idea that tomorrow's adventure wouldn't be a simple "get it and go," kind of trip. No idea that by the end of that day, he'd be keeping a broken promise, and that he'd be back in the presence of Caroline Forbes.


	2. A Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a day late with this chapter, but oh well.... Here it is.

The next afternoon found Stefan and Elena driving past fields in Oklahoma on their way to meet Caroline.

The hour long drive had begun to cause Elena's legs to cramp, a fact that she didn't tell Stefan, since he was exasperated enough as it was.

She watched as a plane flew parallel to them for a moment, dropping water over the endless sea of crops. Ah, farmland, she thought, how fucking wonderful.

She sighed, "Are you sure she'll be there?" She asked her fiancé, tapping her fingernails on the window of their brand new red truck.

They'd only gotten it a week ago, and it had been her idea. That red sports car was just no good for the kind of lifestyle they wanted. Especially since Elena wanted children desperately. There was no way they'd be able to cram a whole family into that thing, so into a warehouse it went, and into their home came the truck.

Stefan laughed, "If I know Caroline, I'm sure she's dragged her entire department into the field," he replied, "Hell, a day like today, of course she would. She loves her work. I mean, look at the sky; it's a perfect day for a tornado."

Looking over at Stefan, Elena began to notice a few things. She could see the smallest bead of sweat making its way down the side of his face. He was on edge.

"You're nervous about seeing her," she observed.

Stefan almost laughed, "Nervous?"

What an understatement. He was a wreck. He had no idea how he'd react seeing her again, last time he'd seen her was when he'd told her he was leaving the team and getting a new job over coffee. It was the last time they'd gotten together, shortly after they'd filed for divorce.

He hated that his last memory of her was her heart broken face at the fact that he'd be gone for good.

"No," he said, "Do I look nervous?" He wiped the bead of sweat off of his forehead.

Elena smiled at him, "No," she lied poorly, and upon seeing the look of disbelief on his face, she added, "Okay, you look nervous. I'm gonna be honest, you look like a wreck."

They laughed for a moment, then Stefan sighed, "I just want to get it over with," he breathed. It was true, he did want to move on with life after Caroline, a task he was finding increasingly hard as time went on, and the only way he could do so was if they were well and truly separated.

"She said she signed the papers?" Elena asked, interrupting his thoughts.

He nodded in response, "That's what she said."

"You don't think she did?"

"No, I think so," Stefan replied, taking Elena's hand.

She smiled at him, “I love you, Stefan, no matter what happens today,” She said.  
He glanced at her briefly, then returned his eyes to the road, “Nothing bad will happen today, we’ll just get in, get the papers, and get out. Simple, really.”  
They sat in silence for the remaining five minutes of their drive, and Stefan desperately tried to calm his nerves.

Soon enough they arrived at the spot where Caroline had told them to meet. Stefan was waving to his former colleagues as he drove past them, then pulling to a stop in front of what resembled a small bus. He and Elena then got out of the truck, and walked around to the front of it. Stefan nervously took her hand, and looked around worriedly.  
“Hey,” Elena whispered, getting his attention. He turned his eyes on her, then she stood on the tips of her toes, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, "You can do this," she whispered.

"I know," he replied.

Their intimate moment was interrupted by the sound of a British man shouting at Stefan, "Who's this handsome devil?"  
Stefan turned around to see Klaus Mikaelson and his sister, Rebekah rapidly approaching them. The two had been a part of their gang in college, and while they hadn’t intended to stick around and become chasers—Klaus actually had wanted to become a weatherman, and Rebekah had wanted to become a simple work-in-a-lab meteorologist—they had stuck with the group from their beginnings.

Stefan turned around, a grin slowly appearing on his face, "Gentlemen," he said sarcastically, gesturing to the suit he was wearing for work.  
Rebekah cleared her throat, “Do I look like a gentleman to you?” She asked.  
Stefan laughed, “Pardon me, M’lady,” He said, mockingly kissing her hand, then receiving a smack to the head.  
Klaus laughed at him, and Stefan shook his head, “I see your sister hasn’t changed,”  
“No, she really hasn’t,” Klaus replied, pulling Stefan in for a brief hug.

As the two pulled away, he observed his brother Damon standing in front of the bus like vehicle titled "Barn Burner," making camera gestures and shouting, "It's the extreme! The extreme!" The Extreme being an old nickname for Stefan back in the day when they all chased together.

"Don't start that shit," Stefan protested, walking away from Klaus and Rebekah, and walking towards Damon.

After he had left, Damon had stayed with the other chasers, and continued their work. Stefan had offered Damon a job with him at the weather station, but he'd declined, saying his place was here, with the chasers. It almost seemed as if he'd also been saying, "Yours is too."

As they met, Stefan and Damon slapped their hands together, and Damon laughed, "A manly handshake ensues," he teased, "How you doing, brother?" He wrapped his arms around Stefan.

"I'm doing great," Stefan replied.

"Oh, man, so much has happened since you left."

Behind them, Stefan heard footsteps approaching, and he turned around to see his fiancé shyly walking towards them, her white suit nearly reflecting sunlight as she walked. "Damon, I'd like you to meet Elena," he said, "Elena, this is Damon. He's my brother."

She smiled, "So this is the famous other Salvatore," she murmured, eyeing Damon up and down.

Stefan nodded, "Damon's been chasing with us since we started," he told her, then he turned to Damon, "Listen, where's Caroline?"

His brother pointed to the far end of the site, where a blonde head of hair was blocking his view of a satellite, "She's working on the Doppler. Broke down again, we’re running out of grant money," He confessed.

"Running out?"

"We don't get much, that shouldn't be much of a surprise."

"Believe me, it isn't," Stefan replied, turning to Elena, "Elena, why don't you hang out with my brother for a while? I'll be right back."

"Okay," Elena replied, kissing Stefan on the cheek.

As the two pulled away Stefan signed, "Damon, why don't you explain to Elena... Why you are the way you are?" He asked.

Damon laughed, and took Elena's hand, leading her over to where he'd set up two umbrellas and chairs. As the two sat in the shade, Stefan made his way over to Caroline, mentally prepping himself to see her for the first time in ages.

As he made his way through the vans and trucks that belonged to his former colleagues, many came out to greet him. He'd laugh and say, "I'm not back," whenever someone else said "Welcome back, Stefan!"

He didn't make any stops on the way to Caroline, not even when Bonnie hugged him and Tyler Lockwood had to pull her off, causing him to chuckle.

When he finally reached Caroline, he paused, not knowing what to say to her. It had been too long since he'd last said anything to her.

He watched her work around the Doppler, an intense, focused expression on her face, her blonde hair flying about in the wind. She never did like to put it in a ponytail, claiming it was a waste of time, and she could never find a ponytail holder. By her side, Matt Donovan was hard at work over a laptop, likely observing the data from the Doppler, or preparing to. He was joined a moment later by Bonnie, who had gotten over her initial excitement at seeing Stefan and resumed working.

After watching her work for a moment, he took a deep breath, and finally said, "Hi, Caroline."

She stood slowly, and as soon as her eyes found his, she smiled, "Hey, Stefan," she said casually, "I'm glad you found us."

He found himself smiling back, "How you doing?" He asked.

She nodded happily in response, "It's going good. You see the sky today?" She asked, and then she looked at the sky to the northeast, where a massive thunderstorm was forming off in the distance.

Stefan followed her gaze, and watched lightning strike the ground from the enormous storm, then he listened to the boom of the thunder just a few seconds later, "Yeah," he breathed, "She's really talking,"

Caroline laughed, and picked up a black cable from behind the Doppler, "Catch," she commanded him.

With the grace of a fish out of water, Stefan caught the cable right before it hit him in the face.

"It's the biggest series of storms in twelve years," Caroline spat out excitedly, hopping off of Matt’s van and pushing him away from the monitor showing the dopplers data. He put his hands up, and walked away towards his and Bonnie's van in silence. Bonnie immediately followed him.

"One lined up right after another. N.S.S.L says they've never seen anything like it," Caroline added, ignoring Matt's slightly offended gesture.

Stefan raised an eyebrow, "Is that right?" He asked.

"It's exciting isn't it?"

"Yeah, so Caroline, about the divorce papers—"

Before Stefan could finish his sentence, someone called out for Caroline, "Hey Caroline, you have a second?"

Caroline nodded, and began to walk over to where the eldest member of their group, Alaric Saltzman, was standing, holding a video camera in his hand.

"This thing's acting up again," he explained as Caroline took the camera in her hands, and studied it briefly.

"The focus mount's jammed," she muttered, toying around with the camera's parts in an attempt to fix it, then she found what the problem was, "There's grass in the auto-focus."

Alaric ran a hand through his hair, "Should I clean it?" He asked.

"Not unless you want to sketch tornadoes," was Caroline's reply as she walked back to where Stefan was standing with his hands in his front pockets.

Noticing Stefan, Alaric waved, "Welcome back, Stefan," he said.

"I'm not back," he replied coolly, turning his eyes once again on Caroline, who picked up the cable he'd dropped on the ground, and plugged it into one of the many holes surrounding the monitor and keyboard.

"You want the papers?" She asked, looking up at him as she finished her task.

Stefan nodded, "I did drive all the way out here for them." He gestured to his brand new red truck.

Caroline swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat, "They're signed and ready," she said, proud that her voice did not waiver, and reveal the heart break she was feeling inside. It hadn't been her decision to get divorced, and she was still holding on to the hope that they could work through their differences, and go back to being married again.

"Good, good, let's see them," Stefan demanded.

Caroline stood up taller, and put a hand on her hip, "You need them right now?" She asked with a chuckle, "Right this second?"

"Well, that'd be nice."

"What's the urgency? You act like you're getting married."

"I am."

She could practically see her face fall, and the lump form again in her throat. He was getting married? She knew that he was with someone else; she'd known that he'd moved on. But she hadn't known that he had moved on completely and was ready to finally push the last remnants of her from his life. She hadn't been prepared for that news.

Get yourself together, Caroline, she thought, mentally slapping herself for giving him the slightest hint that she was still in love with him.

"Wow," she murmured, at the same time as he said, "Yeah."

She began to walk away from the Doppler, "Is it Melinda?" She asked, remembering that he'd once told her that he was seeing someone, and he'd mentioned the woman's name.

"Elena," he corrected her, then he too began to walk away from the Doppler.

She looked back at him, "Wasn't there a Melinda somewhere?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head as he caught up with her, "No, there's only been Elena since you."

Caroline laughed, and smacked his arm, "Not much for browsing, are you?"

"No, I guess I'm not," he replied as they approached her truck, a yellow one with blue stripes running along the sides.

She opened the door, and then the glove compartment. After a moment of searching, her fingers found the papers. She quickly grabbed them and handed them to him before she could let her emotions overtake her.

"There you go," she said, adding a false perky tone to her voice.

He thanked her, and unfolded them on the hood of her truck. As he flipped through them, checking to make sure that they were all signed, Caroline shut the truck's door, and leaned back against it.

When she was certain he wasn't looking, she took her wedding ring off of her right hand, and placed it back on her left. It felt a little childish, like she was holding on to a toy she should've let go of a long time ago, but she couldn't help it. It felt comforting to feel the ring on that finger again, where he'd first placed it just five years earlier on their wedding day, and vowed to always be there for her.

So much for "always."

Sighing, she walked around Stefan and the truck, and started to walk back to the Doppler. She was stopped just a few steps away by Stefan, who held up the papers.

"Caroline, you missed a page," he said, a sad expression taking over his face.

She turned around, "What?"

He pointed to a blank line on one of the pages, "Right here."

Caroline walked back towards him, and took the papers in her hands. She read the words on the page for a moment, then flipped through the pages herself, "Where did this come from?" She asked. Then she flipped back to the unsigned page, and continued reading.

Stefan scoffed, "What are you doing?" He asked softly.

"Can I read it first?"

"Caroline, it's the same as it was in December."

"I didn't read it in December."

"Please, Caroline," he begged, "would you sign it so we can go?"

Caroline stopped reading, and put down the papers, "We? She's here?"

He nodded, "Yeah, she's with Damon, now please—" he never finished.

Caroline cringed, "You left her with Damon? What's wrong with you?" She asked, abandoning the papers and walking over to Damon's van.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked, following her.

"I want to meet her."

"No, you don't."

She didn't respond, and kept walking away from the truck, and the papers. The papers. "Christ," Stefan muttered under his breath before turning around, and grabbing the papers.

Meanwhile, Damon and Elena were sitting comfortably in the shade of two umbrellas sipping on their drinks with bendy straws that he'd borrowed from Matt. Well, he'd actually stolen them, but Elena didn't need to know that.

The two were having a conversation about Stefan, which turned into a conversation about how tornadoes form. Elena, knowing nothing about the forces of nature, had asked the question, "How does it happen?" And she'd received a lecture, which Damon was now finishing.

"The suck zone," he said, "It's the point, basically where the twister sucks you up."

Elena nodded, and took a sip of her drink, pretending that she was understanding what he was saying. "Is that the official term for it?" She asked, noticing that "the suck zone" seemed a little too informal to be a scientific name for it.

"No, obviously it's not the technical term for it," Damon replied, and then he started to say more, but was interrupted by the approaching Stefan and Caroline.

"Hi," the blonde said, "I'm Caroline Forbes." She held out her hand as she approached Elena, who stood awkwardly and accepted the handshake.

"Hello, nice to meet you," Elena replied, giving a genuine smile to Caroline, who laughed lightly.

"Stefan just told me the, uh, the happy news," Caroline confessed.

"Which?" Elena asked.

Stefan pointed to Elena, then to himself, "Us, marriage," he whispered, winking at his fiancé.

"It's happy news," Caroline added, putting her hands on her hips.

Elena laughed awkwardly, and ran a hand through her hair, "I guess it probably seems... Sudden," she said.

Caroline raised her eyebrows, "Seems sudden?"

From below, Damon chuckled, "Brother, you're taking the vows? Nice," he said.

"W-We just wanted to get it done before Stefan started his new job," Elena told him.

"That's right," Caroline breathed, "Weatherman."

"What?" Stefan asked, "Don't say it."

"I said weatherman, I think it's great."

"Caroline, you have that tone."

"There's no tone if you don’t have a problem being a weatherman," she teased.

He shook his head, "I don't have a problem being a weatherman," he replied.

Suddenly, a phone began to ring, and the former couple glanced at Elena, who had started to dig through her purse. As soon as she found her cell phone, she pulled the antenna up with her teeth, and answered.

"Just wanted to say hello," Caroline said in farewell to Elena, who shook her hand.

"Very nice to meet you," Elena mouthed.

"You too," Caroline mouthed back, then she turned and walked away from Elena and Stefan.

"Stefan!" Elena whispered, making a motion with her hand of a pen running over paper.

"What?" He asked.

"Did she sign the papers?"

"No..."

Stefan held up a finger, then ran after Caroline, who was standing by his and Elena's truck. "New truck?" She asked, walking around it.

"That's right," he replied, watching her blue eyes look over the red paint of the truck.

"Wow," she breathed, "New job, new truck, new... wife. It's a whole new you."

"Caroline," he said, looking up at her solemnly.

"This is very awkward," Caroline muttered.

"Tell me about it."

"I thought you'd come alone," she confessed.

"I wasn't expecting to come out here at all you said you'd meet me—"

"It's about Dorothy," she interrupted him, feeling a smile make its way across her face.

"Dorothy," he breathed, "What about her?"

Caroline took his hand, "She's here," she whispered.

Stefan looked at her in disbelief, remembering the day they'd thought up Dorothy. They'd been at her mother's house in Wakita with their gang, going over footage from the day's chase before dinner. They'd already been married for two years at the time, and it felt like the time had flown by too fast.

~~~

“Tree! Watch out for that tree!” Bonnie cried in the video, watching an enormous tree branch just barely miss their heads.

Stefan was laughing in the background, and Caroline could hear herself smack him as the twister got closer and closer to the camera.

“Oh, come on, it was funny,” Stefan protested, playing with a piece of his wife’s hair.

She scoffed at him, “No, it wasn’t, we could’ve died out there,” She said.

“We could die out there any day, Caroline,” Damon said from in front of her, “Calm down.”

Stefan raised his eyebrows, “He’s right.”

Caroline rolled her eyes, and laid her head down on Stefan’s lap, watching as the monstrous tornado spun around and around on the small camera screen in Damon’s hands. 

“You know, every day we go out and get data, footage, and all that from outside the tornado,” Stefan said suddenly.

Matt, who was sitting beside Damon, turned around, “Yeah, of course we do, it’s our job,” He replied. 

Stefan shook his head, “If you would let me finish, Matt, I was going to say, what if we could get that from inside the tornado?’ He asked.

Caroline sat up, and looked into her husband’s eyes, “If we could do that we’d learn all kinds of things about tornadoes,” She added.

“And we’d be able to come up with a more advanced warning system,” He said, finishing her thought.

“Yes!” Caroline exclaimed excitedly, then she gently brought her lips to his in a short, but passionate kiss.

~~~

"Show me," Stefan demanded, then Caroline, still holding his hand, led him to the back of their site, where something massive was standing under a tarp, and on the back of Tyler's truck.

As Caroline removed the tarp, the other storm chasers gathered around them, and watched as Stefan gazed up at the silver colored cylinder with a sticker on the side containing the image of Dorothy from the wizard of oz, and orange letters reading "Dorothy I," on the side. There were various wires crossing over metal bars on the machine, and red and orange lights in a variety of places.

"I can't believe you did it," Stefan said softly.

"We built four of them," Caroline told him, resting her arm on Dorothy.

Stefan looked at their creation in amazement, "Does she work?" He asked quietly.

Caroline opened the door to the truck bed, and smiled as he ran up onto it, and let his hands run over Dorothy's various parts. She laughed when he almost bumped into an anemometer, then she leaned on the truck.  
"I was hoping you'd be here for her first time out," she said, "It wouldn't be right if you weren't here."

Before Stefan could reply, he heard his brother chuckle, and he looked down to see Damon and Elena standing side by side with the rest of the group, looking up at Dorothy. Damon looked at her with a calm in his eyes, but in Elena's there was a strange mix of curiosity and confusion.

"It's Stefan's concept," Damon told Elena, "The extreme, it came from his brain."

Caroline cleared her throat, and Damon winked at her, "Caroline's too," he added, nodding at a satisfied smile from his boss.

"Mostly Caroline actually, I only had a hand in it," Stefan said, his eyes never leaving Dorothy.

Elena smiled, "Wow, it's amazing," she said, then she dropped her poker face, and admitted her confusion, "What is it?"

Stefan finally tore his eyes away from what was essentially his baby, and looked at his fiancé, "It's an instrument packed for studying tornadoes," he explained, as Caroline stepped closer to him, "First one in history."

"Scientists have studied tornadoes forever," she added, jumping onto the truck with him, "But still no one has any idea how a tornado works. We don't know what happens inside because nobody can get take measurements from inside the funnel. That's what Dorothy's going to do."

Elena nodded, looking curiously at the machine, then at Caroline, "How?" She asked.

"We put her up inside a tornado, she opens," Caroline replied, pressing her palm on a yellow button, causing the glass lid on top of Dorothy to open, nearly hitting Stefan in the face, and revealing hundreds of glass sensors with computer chips inside of them. Each one was blinking with a red light, which would send signals back to their computers when Dorothy was in action.

"And releases hundreds of these sensors," Caroline said, reaching in, grabbing a sensor, and handing it to Elena, "that measure all parts of the tornado simultaneously."

Elena looked at the sensor for a moment, then smiled shyly as she handed it back to Caroline.

"You see, Elena, it's like this: the sensors go up the funnel and radio back information about the internal structure, wind velocities, etcetera," Stefan elaborated, "We'll learn more about tornadoes in thirty seconds than in the last thirty years."

Caroline nodded, "Get a profile of one for the first time," she said, finishing his sentence for him.

Stefan looked down at Caroline, and smiled, then he looked down at Elena, who was still looking up at them in curiosity.

"What will that do?" Elena asked.

"If we knew how a tornado works, we can design an advanced warning system," Stefan replied.

"But there are already warnings."

"They're not good enough," Caroline said, "They're not near good enough. Right now, it's three minutes warning, if we can get this information, we can increase that time to fifteen minutes."

"Give people a chance to get to safety," Stefan added, "At least that's what these guys are trying to do."  
He gestured to the chasers surrounding them, who erupted into applause as the pair jumped out of the truck.

Stefan turned to Caroline, once she'd gotten down, "I am so glad you actually did it," he said.

Caroline blushed, "Well," she gestured to the other chasers behind her, "We did it."

"That's right," Tyler said from behind her, high fiving Caroline.

"How do you get it in the tornado?" Elena asked, interrupting the celebration.

Stefan turned around, "We— I mean they— get in front of it and put it in the damage path," he explained, "And then get out before it picks them up too."

At that moment Damon leaned in, and whispered in Elena's ear, "It's the suck zone."

She turned to him, "Oh," she whispered, then she turned back to her fiancé.

Suddenly, Bonnie came running up to them, in all the excitement no one had noticed that she'd been standing on the phone near the Doppler the whole time. "Caroline!" She cried as she approached them, "We've got major action! N. S. S. L. Says the cap is breaking; towers are going up thirty miles up the dry line."

Elena didn't understand a word of what Bonnie had said, but Stefan and Elena did, and the two looked at each other for a moment. They both knew that it was go time, and Stefan would have to leave. Caroline slammed the truck bed door closed, and faced her group, "Alright, let's get out of here," she ordered.

Immediately the chasers went into action, heading off in the direction of their individual vehicles, "We're moving!" Damon cried as he ran towards his van.

"It's fatty time!" Matt shouted, dragging Bonnie towards their own Van.

"Tyler don't forget the laptop!" She yelled as they passed him.

"I got it!" He shouted back.

Stefan took Elena's hand, and led her to their truck. "Do they know what they're doing?" Elena asked worriedly, looking around at the chaotic scene the chasers were putting on as they gathered up their equipment.

Her fiancé nodded, "They can handle this, they know what they're doing," he replied, "This is what they do, they live for this." He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he secretly still lived for it too, and being there made his heart race with a familiar adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He apparently couldn't hide that feeling as well as he thought from Elena, "Are you sure you don't want to go?" She asked.

"Yeah, positive," he replied.

"Stefan..."

"I don't want to go."

"Okay," Elena replied, watching Caroline's truck drive past them with a honk of her horn, "Did she sign the papers?"

Stefan stopped walking, "Shit!" He muttered, slamming his palm into his forehead.

"She didn't?" Elena asked, trying to mask the mild irritation with her fiancé.

Stefan sighed, "Come on," he said, holding her hand more tightly, "If we hurry we can catch them!"

They then ran out after the chasers, and into their truck.

The group was out on the highway pretty quickly, Caroline's truck at the front of their line, and Stefan's in the back.

"Once we catch up with them, take the truck, and go home," Stefan muttered, "I'll get them signed, and see you tonight."

Elena scoffed, "No! This is interesting, I'm gonna stay here, with you, Stefan," she said, taking his free hand in hers.

He smiled at her, and then focused his eyes on the road.

Suddenly, a familiar looking group of black cars and vans appeared in his side mirror, and he looked back to see none other than his former rival—and Caroline's likely current one— Katherine pierce.

"Katherine," Stefan groaned, "Unbelievable."

She was a cunning, lying, manipulative, yet brilliant scientist. They'd worked at the same lab together for a good year, him, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Klaus, Tyler, Damon, and Rebekah. Then Katherine had split, and gotten her own group, complete with full funding and everything.

While their group had floundered and only barely been able to afford somewhat decent technology, Katherine had it all. She had good Doppler, sponsors, money, and all the proper technology. She even made it on the news a couple times, and he'd swear every time that when she bragged about an accomplishment to the camera, she was looking right at him.

He and Katherine were currently staring at each other from their respective vehicles. She sat in the passenger seat of hers, Klaus's brother, Elijah Mikaelson, at the wheel. Stefan didn't know when Elijah had joined Katherine, all he knew was that he'd split from Klaus and Rebekah before college had even started, and gone somewhere else. Somehow, he'd wound up with Katherine's group.

"Who is that, Stefan?" Elena asked, looking at Katherine, who looked frighteningly similar to Elena, except her hair was much curlier, and her eyes held a wicked look to them.

"Katherine Pierce," Stefan answered, "She's awful. We all started out in the same lab, but she got herself corporate sponsors. Didn't take us long to realize she was in it for the money rather than the science. She's got a lot of high tech gadgets, and no idea how to use them. And she doesn't have Dorothy." Stefan smiled at that last sentence, then watched as Katherine's van passed them.

He then reached for the truck's radio, and held down the talk button, "Caroline, can you hear me?"

Not a moment later, he heard her response, "Hey! You changed your mind?"

"Yeah, what's Katherine doing here?"

She was silent for a moment, then he could hear her voice again, "I'm not sure, but I bet she's asking herself the same question about you," she replied.

As Stefan put down the radio, the last of Katherine's group honked his horn beside him, and began to merge into Stefan’s lane while he was in it.

"Shit!" Stefan cried, "Hold on!"

In order to avoid the rapidly approaching enormous van, Stefan had to drive off of the road, and into the grass beside it. He and Elena were slightly jerked around as the truck drove over numerous objects.

"God, that bitch!" Stefan shouted, pulling the truck to a stop as he heard a familiar popping sound that signified a newly flat tire.

He and Elena then stared after the black caravan as they drove further and further away, and into the storm that they most certainly wouldn’t be chasing.


	3. One Day Only

An hour after the incident on the road, they’d managed to find themselves at a repair shop, which was located across the road from a small, old fashioned looking diner. The chasers had parked in front of it, and sat outside of their vehicles whilst they waited for Stefan’s tire to be fixed, since Stefan had no idea how to change a tire. 

Stefan rolled his and Elena's replacement tire out of the back of the truck, and rolled it to the worker who had strolled up to them a moment earlier, and offered to fix it for him. "How long should this take?" He asked.

"Ten minutes, fifteen tops," the man replied.

"Sounds good," Stefan said, turning to his truck, and brushing a piece of dirt off of his blue shirt.

Suddenly he heard the slightly seductive and throaty voice of Katherine Pierce from somewhere in front of him. He looked up to see a small news crew surrounding Katherine and her crew of black vans, who were hovering over a silver device that looked frighteningly similar to Dorothy, but on the side the letters spelled out “DOT 3” instead of “Dorothy”.

It was then that it hit him; Katherine had stolen his and Caroline's design. She'd taken it and claimed it as her own using her special funding and manipulative persona. She'd stolen Dorothy from his hands.

He watched in disbelief as she opened the device, which had a spherical looking top compared to Dorothy's flat, round, glass top, and pulled out a square shaped sensor.

That bitch, Stefan thought, attempting to channel his anger. It didn't help that the news crews were practically drooling over Katherine, either.

He unconsciously started walking towards his former, and now current, nemesis, glaring at Caroline as he walked, "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"Stefan!" Caroline warned, urging him with her eyes not to take a step closer to Katherine.

He ignored her, and kept walking towards the brunette, only to be stopped by Caroline stepping in front of him, and putting a hand to his chest. "You don't want to do that," she hissed under her breath.

"She took her," Stefan growled, "She took Dorothy. She took our design! How are you not angry about this?"

"I am! Stefan! I am angry, but I'm not going to go over there and rip her a new one because I'm trying to maintain control."

"Are you kidding me?"

"What do you want me to just go over there and punch her right now? Do you think that'll fix this?"

Stefan sighed, and stepped back, "No," he murmured, "It wouldn't."

He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then he locked his eyes on Caroline's, "Look, you've got one day, and whether Dorothy flies or not, I'm gone."

She gulped nervously, "I know," she said, "I'm gonna go get something to drink." She then walked away from him, and into the diner.

As he watched Caroline walk away, he could hear Elena approach, and he turned around slowly to see her looking worriedly at him, "Is everything okay?" She asked softly.

He nodded, taking her hands in his, "Listen, I'm going to hang out here," he said, "Why don't you get something to eat? It's a long drive once we're on the road."

Elena raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" She asked.

"Absolutely," he replied, gently kissing her forehead before watching her walk away.

Stefan then turned and looked at the sky. At the moment, it seemed calm, very cloudy, but calm. Nothing looked amiss, or like it could produce a tornado, or other deadly storm. However, Stefan knew that it wouldn’t take much for this cloudy day to become someone’s worst nightmare.  
  
Speaking of worst nightmares, his had just come true. Watching Katherine unveil DOT 3 to those news crews had been the worst thing he’d witnessed in ages. Dorothy was supposed to be his and Caroline’s, the one thing that brought them together when they fought, and even now. Now she was being overshadowed by Katherine’s made up and photoshopped copy.  
  
He sighed, and kicked at a few rocks on the ground. There was nothing he could do about it now, except hope that he and Caroline got theirs in the air first…  
  
~~~~  
“Katherine just called,” Caroline said from their kitchen, slaving over a stove in an attempt to cook spaghetti. She’d never really been excellent at the culinary arts.  
  
Stefan scoffed, “Oh really,” He replied, “What did she say? Is she leaving the country?” He added, walking into the kitchen and wrapping his hands around her waist.  
  
His wife laughed, “Unfortunately, no,” She said, “She wanted us to know that she’d gotten the deal with the local weather channel, she was just bragging.”  
  
“I can’t imagine she’ll be doing much bragging when she finds out what we’re going to do with Dorothy.”  
  
“She has no idea.”  
  
Stefan chuckled, then pressed a soft kiss to her neck.  
  
“Stop that!” Caroline squealed, “You can’t distract the chef!”  
  
Her husband put his hands up, and backed away, then he leaned against their kitchen table, gazing at Caroline for a moment. “You know what else Katherine doesn’t have?” He asked.  
  
“What doesn’t she have? She has everything,” Caroline protested.  
  
“You,” He answered, “She doesn’t have you.”  


~~~~

Meanwhile in the diner, as Caroline walked in, she saw Katherine approaching her, and put on her best poker face.

"Katherine," she hissed, feeling like a mouse being chased by a venomous snake.

"Caroline," Katherine hissed back, in the exact same tone, as if she were mocking the blonde. She likely was.

"What's wrong with Stefan?" Katherine asked, "He just seemed so tense earlier, you know, when I was outside with the reporters."

"You are what's wrong with him," Caroline replied tensely, "You stole our design, he found out, and he was a little pissed."

Katherine laughed, "Stole your design? Really? Okay, if that's how you want to remember it."

"That's what happened."

"Believe what you want."

"Is there any reason why I'm still talking to you and not drinking coffee?"

"Well, I just thought I'd tell you the storm's gonna be a lot bigger than we anticipated."

Caroline raised a bewildered eyebrow, "Sharing information with me, Katherine?" She asked.

Katherine shook her head, "No it's just... Never mind, do with it what you will," she replied, walking away from the blonde as Elena entered the diner.

Caroline's eyes rolled as she sat down next to Elena at the counter, and took off her sunglasses, "Nothing changes," she breathed.

"Excuse me?" Elena asked.

She turned to the other woman, "She's gonna wait and see what Stefan does," she told her, then she turned to the waitress behind the counter, "Can I get a coffee to go please?"

As the waitress got to work, Elena's eyebrows scrunched together, "That woman's waiting for Stefan? Why?" She asked.

Caroline brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “Did Stefan ever tell you about what he did with us?” She asked in response.

The brunette shook her head, “No,” She replied, smiling shyly, “He hasn’t told me anything, just that he used to chase tornadoes, so…”

Caroline nodded in understanding, “Stefan did a lot more than chase tornadoes, he studied them,” She told Elena, “Well—we studied them, actually. We gathered data, made observations, he was a scientist, like me. Except, I had something he didn’t.”

“What was that?”

“My doctorate.”

Elena raised both eyebrows, unable to deny that she was impressed by Caroline, and feeling ever-so-slightly like she was suddenly having to compete with the other woman. This was going to be a long day.

“Wow,” She finally mustered, “That’s… Wow…”

Caroline nodded, “Thank you,” she said in response, “Not often I see someone outside of our group impressed by something I did.”

“That’s unfortunate,” 

“Yeah…”

“So, about Stefan…”

“What about him?”

“How was he?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just want to know what he used to be like.”

Caroline thought for a moment, then sighed, “He used to be this risk taker, he always tried the most bold and outrageous things, and we wound up in danger often, but in the end we’d make it out alive. I remember Stefan used to say that he could ‘read the storm’s mind,’ and if it was going to do anything to hurt us, he’d know.” She then shook her head, “The extreme.”

Elena laughed, "So, you're telling me that Stefan knows what a storm is thinking?" She asked.

Caroline nodded, "Something like that," she replied, then she pulled a pack of gum out of her pocket, "Gum?" She offered.

The brunette politely shook her head, "No."

"My mom, Liz used to call him a human barometer," Caroline confessed, popping a piece of gum into her mouth.

Elena sighed, "Well, he hasn't even told me about all this," she said, gesturing to Caroline and her friends outside.

Caroline nodded in understanding, "You know, you should really go to the bathroom before we leave," she said, "There's not many places to stop once we get on the road."

Elena stared at the blonde quizzically for a moment, studying her up and down, and observing the woman she seemed to have befriended. Caroline looked like she was heartbroken, but she was trying to hide it, and failing to, judging by the look in her eyes and the fact that her ring was still on her finger.

It was then that she came to a not very surprising conclusion, "You're still in love with him," she observed quietly, watching Caroline's eyes desperately avoid her own, "Not that I blame you, I just hope that this isn't some desperate attempt to keep him in your life."

All of Caroline's strength was put into not glaring at Elena, even though it wasn't her fault that she and Stefan weren't together. None of this was really Elena's fault; she'd just gotten caught up in it.

The waitress handed Caroline a check, and she glanced over at Elena, "We were together," she said, walking away, and leaving Elena at the counter.

Meanwhile Stefan stood outside watching storm clouds form from the already cloudy sky overhead, their color slowly shifting from grey to green.

Behind him he could hear the shuffling footsteps of his brother, Damon, who stopped walking only when Stefan could see him in his peripheral vision.

"Hey, brother," Damon said quietly, taking in the sight of the greening sky, a sure sign of an impending tornado, "What's up?"

"The sky," Stefan replied half sarcastically, watching an American flag flap casually on its pole, "Going green."

Damon smiled at the observation, "You ready to join us, brother?" He asked.

His brother nodded, then looked at him, "Greenage," he said pointing to the sky, and then walking towards his and Elena's truck, "Let's go."

It took all of Damon's strength not to cry out in joy. His brother was back, and they were chasing tornadoes together. This day was the best one in a long time.

"You've got it, boss," He said instead, running towards his van with a smile on his face.

Stefan rushed to find Elena, whom he found walking out of the diner carrying two lemonades. "Elena!" He cried, getting her attention as he jogged over to his fiancé.

"Hey," she said smiling, "There you are, I got you lemonade while I was in there."

He smiled back, "Thank you," he replied, "And I'm sorry, but we've gotta go, follow us in the truck, but stay behind Damon, you'll be safe back there. I've gotta go with Caroline."

Elena nodded in understanding, and ran to their truck, placing the lemonades on the roof as she opened the door, then taking them back once she did that.

She waited until she watched Damon's van pass hers, then she pressed her foot gently on the accelerator, and followed him.

"Let's move out, everyone!" Stefan shouted, clapping his hands together as he raced towards Caroline's truck, where she stood with the door open and the keys hanging from her mouth. He gently took them from her, and smiled, "I'll drive," he said, hopping into the driver’s seat.

Caroline nodded, and ran over to the passenger side of the truck, practically throwing herself inside, and then slamming the door.

They were on the road in seconds, and Caroline let out a satisfied chuckle as she watched Katherine's team dash out of the diner a minute too late. Those guys were about to miss an amazing opportunity.

In Damon's car, he too let out a laugh as he watched Katherine's team rush into their black mob of vehicles, "It's the wonder of nature motherfuckers!" He cried, turning on his radio, and then jamming to the sound of a rock song.

Ahead of him, Stefan and Caroline laughed as the sounds of the electric guitar filled the quiet, grassland air. "Hey you guys!" Damon shouted out of his window.

"I see nothing's changed," Stefan said, a smile on his face.

Caroline shook her head, "Just one thing has," she whispered, as the sounds of classical music from Klaus and Rebekah's van entered their ears.

They could hear Klaus' maniacal laughter as Damon shouted "screw you!" Over the radio, and Stefan couldn't help that his smile had suddenly become glued to his face.

In the van behind them was Bonnie and Matt, the latter of the two was beginning to belt the lyrics to Oklahoma, from the musical of the same name, "OOOOOOOKLAHOMA WHERE THE WIND COMES SWEEPING DOWN THE PLAINS," he sang loudly, not stopping even when Bonnie smacked him.

"Come on Bon Bon," he teased.

"Hey! That's my nickname for her!" Damon cried into his radio, "I'm the only one who gets to call her that."

Bonnie laughed, "Shut up, Damon," she said into the radio, then she began to belt out the song with Matt.

As they reached the songs finish, Stefan and Caroline were near tears from their fits of laughter. And for a moment, it felt like old times. Like nothing had happened, they'd never fought, asked for a divorce, and he'd never broken his promise.

But that had happened. And yet, here they were, sitting in Caroline's truck chasing down a storm.

"So..." She said, at the same time as he said, "So..."

They both laughed, then Caroline looked up at the sky, where the clouds had formed in various shapes and sizes, "Amazing coloring up there, isn't it?" She asked.

He glanced up as well, "Yeah," he said, impressed with the sky's creation, "Look at those mammatas, those tops have got to be spiking 40,000 feet."

Caroline whistled, "That's a good thing," she said cheerily.

"It's a very good thing."

Caroline chuckled lightly, and leaned back in her seat, "I talked to Elena earlier," she said, then instantly regretted it.

He sighed, "I don't want to talk about Elena right now," he replied.

"She seemed nice."

"Ha!"

"Uh oh, she's not nice?"

"I know what you meant."

"What did I mean, Stefan?"

"Just don't do this, it's—it's awkward to talk about Elena w—with you."

"Well, I figured maybe we should, I mean, she's here, you're here, we haven't talked in a while— I'm just trying to find out what's going on in your life, Stefan!"

"Why? Why would you need to know that?"

"I care about you, okay? I'm just trying to make civilized conversation here, and catch up with you, and you're biting my head off."

Stefan scoffed, and turned his eyes off the road and onto her, "Yes, she's very nice," he said after a moment of silence, "Things are going well, she has her job, I've got my new one..."

"What's her job?"

"She's a therapist."

Caroline nodded, "Oh," she said, "Is she yours?"

Stefan almost laughed, "You couldn't resist that one, could you?" He asked.

"I'm not saying you need therapy, it was a joke!"

"Wait, I need therapy?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Why would I need a therapist? What could I possibly need a therapist for? You're the doctor, tell me."

"I don't know, maybe your inability to finish things? Keep promises?"

That struck a nerve, "Are you serious?" He asked, "That's what this is about?"

"You asked me," she replied, her hands up, "You asked me!"

"Look, I'm sorry that I left, I'm sorry! But you know as well as I do that if I'd stayed, we'd have both been miserable," he said, not noticing that the truck was beginning to slip off of the road, and into the grass.

"There's a road—" Caroline started, but Stefan ignored her, and kept talking.

"We fought constantly, Caroline," he continued, "This kind of argument, but worse, every night. I remember hearing you cry behind our bedroom door, and it was the most heartbreaking sound I'd ever heard. I didn't want either of us to feel that way again, so..."

"Yeah, I get it, you left! But one question," she said.

"What?"

"Can I drive?"

"No."

"Then would you?"

He looked at the road, which was now grass, and saw a huge, green and yellow tractor parked in front of them in said grass, "Shit!" He cried, swerving out of the way at the last second, and back onto the asphalt.

Caroline glared at him, "God," she breathed, glancing out the window.

A moment later, she looked at him, and sighed, "You know what?" She asked, "As long as you're happy, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

He smiled solemnly, "I am," he said, "Happy, I'm happy with the way things are going in my life, and I'm happy with Elena."

"You look happy," she whispered sarcastically.

"I am!"

Meanwhile in Matt's Van, he and Bonnie, who had been keeping an eye on the road, observed a funnel touching the ground on their right. "Shit!" Matt cried.

"Oh my god," Bonnie said, "She's on the ground."

Matt picked up the radio, "Hey are you guys gonna wrap that up soon?" He asked, referring to the argument they'd all overheard thanks to their open windows.

Stefan angrily picked up his own radio, as Caroline put the radio's headset on, "What?" He asked.

His former colleague rolled his eyes, "Nothing, I was just wondering if we were going to chase this tornado, or catch the next one?" He asked in response.

Stefan's gaze shifted to his left, where a massive, yet beautiful, gray funnel had touched down on a field, and begun wreaking havoc on the grass.

"Shit!" He cried as Caroline tuned the radio, and took it from his hands.

"Matt, is it on the ground?" She asked, trying to see over Stefan's shoulders.

Her former lover suddenly took a hard left turn, which surprised her, "Easy!" She cried, holding on to his seat.

The other members of their caravan followed suit, and soon they were heading towards the twister.

Stefan and Caroline pulled further ahead, watching as their team hung back, letting the two captains do their work. The blonde then took the radio, "Matt, we're getting ready to intercept," she said, "Get ready to set up."

"You got it!" Matt exclaimed, and then he set down his radio.

Stefan and Caroline gasped as the tornado came back into their view, and they felt their hearts race with a familiar adrenaline that only came when they chased together. They watched the thick, rope-like monster tear through the field in awe, watching as it moved just a little bit closer to them.

"You've got to get further ahead of it," Caroline said, observing that they were too far behind the twister to deploy Dorothy.

Stefan nodded in agreement, "I know what I'm doing," he replied, keeping his eyes strictly on the road.

Caroline raised an eyebrow, "Cut across the field, Stefan."

"I'll get ahead of it."

"Get into that field!"

"Do you want to drive?"

"Yes, I'd love to."

It was then that Tyler came over the radio, "Anybody got distance? How far is it?" He asked.

"Distance is three miles," Matt responded, "Southeast, let's see what she does."

Stefan and Caroline looked at each other, then at the twister, which bent and twisted in ways that fascinated them both. Alaric must've been getting phenomenal footage of this.

Suddenly, Caroline spotted a ditch-like path leading into the field, which could be an easy access route to the twister’s damage path. It was a perfect place to deploy Dorothy. "Go in there," she said, pointing to it.

"Hold on," Stefan said, locking his eyes on the road.

"You're gonna miss it," Caroline protested.

"Hold on a second," Stefan replied, holding a hand up.

Caroline laughed, and then reached a hand up to play with the collar on his jacket, "You lost your nerve?" She teased, goading him to do something spontaneous and exciting, like he used to when they were together.

The corners of Stefan's mouth twitched into a grin, then he turned to her, "Tighten your seat belt," he said slyly, doing exactly what he'd just told her to do.

He then floored it, hitting the accelerator so hard it would probably need to be repaired later. He drove himself and Caroline into the ditch-road that lead toward the damage path, and laughed, "Whoo!" He cried.

"Stefan? Caroline?" Matt's voice asked urgently over the radio, "Where are you? We lost visual."

Caroline gulped nervously as the speedometer's needle passed fifty five, sixty, and sixty five, and the walls of the ditch grew higher and higher, and harder to escape.

"Having fun yet?" Stefan asked.

"We have to get out of this," she replied, looking back at the twister, which had shifted its direction. It was heading straight for them.

"You think?" Stefan asked, feeling a sense of fear wash over him. If he couldn't get them out of there, they'd likely be killed by the monster behind them.

"It's picking up speed," Matt cried over the radio.

"Stefan, if you could get us out of here sometime this week, that'd be good," Caroline muttered worriedly.

"I'm trying to get out!" Stefan replied.

Caroline glanced at him, "Are you mad?" She asked.

He sighed, "I'll be mad later, right now I'm trying not to kill us," he replied.

"Funnels getting thicker! It's moving fast! Coming towards you, Care!" Matt said excitedly.

Caroline looked over her shoulder, and observed that the funnel had indeed gotten thicker, and it had become more of a brown color compared to its original gray. She also watched half in terror, half in awe as it completely annihilated a barn house and two steel buildings, and then shifted its direction. It was now heading right for them.

"It's turning!" She shouted to Stefan, who looked at his mirrors in concern.

"Where?" He asked, "I can't see it!"

"You will," she said shakily.

"Care, you're too close!" Matt cried, "It's not gonna work, get out of there!"

"Shit!" Stefan cried, slamming on the brakes, and bringing the truck to a stop just below a bridge that crossed the ditch, on top of which was another enormous tractor. In his time away from the chasers he'd nearly forgotten how much Midwesterners loved their tractors.

Caroline's heart raced as she jumped out of the truck, and raced to prepare one of the Dorothy machines, which had been moved to her truck earlier, "That wasn't so bad," she said, "Let's go!"

"Why can't we spend a normal day together?" Stefan asked, throwing the door open in order to join Caroline.

The two struggled to get to the back of Caroline's truck against the winds of the twister, which was now only a few hundred yards away from them. It was only getting closer, too, and flinging debris of various sizes at them.

"We're in the damage path," Stefan shouted over the wind, "This is crazy! Forget it!"

"We can still do this!" She cried as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back under the bridge.

"No," he said, "It's going to hit us!"

They took shelter under the bridge, and held on to one of the many wooden support structures, and to each other.

Caroline looked out from behind Stefan as the tornado approached their truck, eager to watch Dorothy fly. She watched in fascination as it got closer and closer...

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked, concerned.

"I want to see it!" She cried, reaching out for her truck.

"Come back!" He yelled, grabbing her around her waist and bringing her back beside him, pressing her tightly against his body.

The two clung tightly to the wooden pole once again, their backs turned to the twister. They listened as its winds tore apart the bridge above them, sending wooden pieces of it flying above their heads.

Caroline had a death grip on Stefan's wrist, and she buried her face in his chest just like she used to, but under entirely different situations.

"God," she breathed.

"We're gonna be okay," he replied.

Not a second after he said that, the twister began to dissipate above them, its winds silencing with the sound of a thunder clap, then nothing.

Stefan and Caroline slowly turned around, and he sighed with relief, "It's gone," he whispered.

Caroline looked around in confusion, "Where's my truck?" She asked.

It was then that Stefan observed the empty space in front of them where he'd parked Caroline's truck. The tornado must've picked it up in the chaos, but where had it gone?

Meanwhile Elena was driving behind Damon, watching the tornado fade from the sky, and into nothing. "Oh my god," she breathed, amazed by what she'd seen.

A moment later, she watched in horror as Caroline's yellow truck landed right in front of her, and she swerved just in time to avoid it. She screamed as she passed the fallen truck, then came to a stop right in front of it.

"Oh god!" She cried, panicking as she slowly got out of the truck.

"Are you okay?" Klaus cried from ahead, he and the others having stopped as soon as they'd seen the truck land.

"Elena!" Damon cried, then she watched as he ran over to her, and helped her to stay standing. He placed his hands on her cheeks excitedly, "Did you just miss that truck?" He asked.

She nodded hurriedly, her eyes searching his for signs of concern.

"That's awesome!" He shouted, pulling away from her, and watching her run past him, and towards Stefan.

"Stefan!" She cried, running into his arms, "Oh god."

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, "I'm okay," she replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, that was kind of exciting. But completely terrifying! Oh god!"

"That's the adrenaline talking," Stefan said, laughing as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

Damon laughed with him, "Did you see what happened?" he asked.

Stefan shook his head, "No," he replied.

"She just missed the truck," Damon replied, gesturing towards Caroline's now upside down and wrecked truck.

Elena nodded excitedly, "Yeah, I did!" She exclaimed, "What happened to you?" She added as Caroline approached, observing they were both soaking wet and covered in mud.

He shook his head, "Nothing," he replied, "We were perfectly safe."

Meanwhile Caroline took in the sight of her newly wrecked truck, and shook her head, "Damn it!" She cried as she walked towards it, "It's trash."

As she approached her truck, she noticed Stefan holding a terrified Elena in his arms, and made eye contact with the brunette, "Are you okay?" She asked, knowing that it was Elena who had nearly been killed by her truck.

Elena gave her a brief nod, then she kept going towards her truck, where Damon stood laughing at something on the ground. Caroline came to the other side of the truck to see that Dorothy had spilled hundreds of her sensors on the road.

Damon chuckled, "Well," he said, "There's some good news. Dorothy flew."

Caroline laughed with him for a second, then bent down, and picked up a sensor, then she set it back down, figuring there was nothing to do with it.

"What was it like?" Damon asked, referring to the close encounter she'd just had.

She looked up at him, "It was windy," she replied.

"Windy," Damon reiterated, "That's intense."

Caroline stood up, and moved towards him, "Alright," she said, "move it."

"Move it," Damon did, putting his hands up as he did so, and walking back towards his van.

Suddenly, Tyler's voice broke through the silence, "Looks like the auto-club's here," he said, pointing to the cluster of black vans belonging to Katherine, her own at the front of the line.

Damon approached Katherine's van, which was being driven by Elijah once again, and laughed at her, "You're fashionably late again, Katherine," he scolded her, leaning against her window as Elijah slowed the van down so as not to kill Damon.

"Fashionably late," he tsked, then he leaned into the window, and towards Elijah's face, "Come on, give me a kiss," he said, attempting to kiss him as the other man fought him off.

"Get out of here," Elijah growled, scoffing as Damon planted a kiss on his cheek, "Get out of here!"

Damon laughed maniacally as he jumped away from his van, and they drove off. "Ha ha!" He cried, "Loser!" He yelled at each of the vans as they passed, "Loser!"

While Damon yelled at Katherine’s caravan, Caroline kicked the window to her truck open, and grabbed her things from where they’d landed on what had once been the roof. Great, she thought, what am I going to drive now?

She looked up to see Stefan and Elena’s new truck before her, in all of its shiny, red glory. A smile slowly spread on her face, then she walked over to her former husband, who still had his arms wrapped around his fiancé, “Hey,” She said, casually, leaning on the bed of the truck. 

He let go of Elena, and crossed his arms, “Hey,” He replied.

“Do you have full coverage on that truck?” Caroline asked, blinking innocently at him. 

Stefan gazed confusedly at her, “Liability only.”

She winced, “Liability only?”

Stefan nodded, and she sighed, “It’s a very pretty truck,” She said, and then he realized what she was doing. She was trying to con him into using his truck to chase tornadoes. 

“No way,” He muttered, shaking his head, “Not gonna happen.”

Unfortunately for Stefan, no amount of protesting was going to save his truck from being used for the chasing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some of the tornado/ storm terminology can be confusing, so I'll post notes at the end of each chapter explaining what everything is.
> 
> Mammatas clouds are pouch-like protrusions hanging from the undersides of clouds, usually thunderstorm anvil clouds but other types of clouds as well. Composed primarily of ice, these cloud pouches can extend hundreds of miles in any direction, remaining visible in the sky for perhaps 10 or 15 minutes at a time.  
> (Credit to earthsky.org for that one)


	4. Liz Forbes, Steak, and Broken Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh, sorry this is late. I got lazy last night... Sorry. Anyway, it's here now, so... Enjoy!

Minutes later they were out on the road in Stefan's red truck. Stefan was at the wheel, Caroline was in the passenger side, and Elena sat in the backseat. They were chasing yet another potential tornado, since the first one had been a bust.

"This is the caboose," Damon said over the radio, referring to where he was positioned in the back of their caravan, "I'm waiting for orders, boss."

Caroline reached for the radio at the exact same time as Stefan did, then she pulled her hand back, and went back for it at the same time as he did again. They both chuckled, then Stefan nodded politely at her, "Go ahead," he begged her.

Caroline shook her head, "No," she replied, "It's your truck."

"No, you should," Stefan urged.

This time, his former wife didn't complain, she simply picked up a radio, and a map of the local roads, and finally responded to Damon's request, "The battle zone should be northeast of 81," she said, referring to the highway they were about to get on.

Elena raised a confused eyebrow, "The battle zone?" She asked, then she glanced at her fiancé, "Stefan, what are we doing?"

He smiled into the rear view mirror, "We're going again," he replied, then looked at Caroline, who gave a nod of approval.

"We're going to get Dorothy to fly," she explained.

Elena scoffed, "Again?" She asked worriedly, "Stefan, you almost got killed back there!"

Stefan shook his head, "No," he replied, "It was just a close call."

Suddenly Tyler came over the radio, updating them on where they needed to be to catch the new twister, "You're going to cross highway fifteen at Oklahoma 412," He said.

Caroline once again took the radio in her hands, "I got that, Tyler," she replied, "Bonnie, What's on the mesonet?"

This time Bonnie's voice came over the radio, "Winds are continuing back," She replied, "Air pressure is all over the place."

Caroline looked at Stefan, a look that seemed to ask him a question, and he nodded. She grinned into the radio, "Okay, let's do this!" She cried.

She then put the radio away, and smiled at Stefan, who smiled back, and then kept his eyes on the road as they passed a cattle ranch. Caroline in the meantime leaned over the middle of the truck, and looked at the speedometer, which rested at a comfortable fifty miles per hour. Pretty tame for a Stefan speed.

She then turned away and groaned, feeling his and Elena's eyes following her.

Next thing she knew, she felt the truck move faster, and she realized Stefan had floored it. The speedometer passed seventy, then remained steady as they approached the storm, which had already dropped a funnel to the ground. They could see the swirling blackness from where they were a few miles away, and they looked up at it in awe.

Neither one of them noticed Elena gripping their seats tightly in terror.

They made a left turn, and soon they came upon the black mob that was Katherine's gang. This didn’t surprise either of them, this twister was going to be a perfect opportunity for Katherine to deploy DOT 3. Hopefully that wouldn’t happen.  
They passed van after Van, Caroline giving a princess wave to the drivers as they fell behind. “Bye, bye,” She sing-songed.

As they approached Katherine's Van, Caroline lightly elbowed Stefan, "There's your girl," she teased. Stefan glanced over at Katherine, who waved to him from the other van, then he looked back at the twister they were passing, and slammed on the brakes.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked, watching in horror as the black vans once again passed them.

He pointed to the twister, "Look at the updraft," he said, "The angle. It's going to shift its course."

The twister in question was indeed bent at an odd angle, and seeming to be ready to change from its direction towards them, to one that would lead it far away.

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked inquisitively.

The man beside her nodded, "It's definitely going to shift, it'll move left," he replied, his eyes still locked on the sky.

"Is that bad?" Elena asked from the backseat.

"If it shifts, and we keep going this way, we won't be able to deploy Dorothy," Caroline explained.

"Wasn't there a road back there?" Elena asked, attempting to help the chasers.

Caroline nodded eagerly, "She's right, Stefan, go!" She exclaimed.

Stefan immediately threw the car into reverse and backed up at the fastest speed he could manage, then he stopped, shifted back into drive, and turned left. Their caravan followed behind them, having fallen back when Stefan hit the accelerator minutes earlier.

They hit puddle after puddle of water, a massive wave of the liquid spraying upward into Klaus and Rebekah's van behind them.

Suddenly, Elena's phone began to ring, causing her and Caroline to jump. She then answered it, not wanting the sound of it ringing to disturb the chasers in the front seats.

"Hello?" Elena asked, "Donald now isn't a very good time... All right, put Julia on."

As Elena spoke to her client, Stefan and Caroline watched as the tornado reappeared in their view, and Caroline sighed in relief, "You were right," she breathed, "It shifted."

He smiled, "I told you," he said, "I'm always right."

"Shut up and chase this tornado, you ass."

They both laughed as rain began to pour down on them, and Stefan turned on the windshield wipers. "We're close," Stefan said softly

"I'm sorry," she muttered, "I just had to take that."

The blonde in the passenger seat glanced in the rear view mirror, "It's fine, I'm just glad you got off when you did, we're about to head into the storm," she replied, picking up the radio.

"Klaus?" She asked, "Klaus come in, we have to get ahead of this storm. What's on the satellite?"

"It's shifting due south," Klaus' voice said over the radio, "Copy?"

"I copy," she replied, but before she could say more, she heard Alaric over the radio.

"We have an F-2, possibly F-3," he said, "Do you read me? It's a very, very large twister on the ground. Very large."

Another voice came over the radio, Matt, "It looks like it's turning," he said, "The atmosphere is unstable. I repeat, unstable. Be careful."

Then Tyler, "It's at two o'clock, and heading this way."

"And this is Damon announcing that we got an F-2, F-3 on the ground and she is gorgeous! Who hoo!"

Caroline scoffed, and Stefan laughed, "Oh, Damon," he muttered.

The blonde looked out at the twister as they approached a bridge, then she gulped nervously as she watched lightning strike the trees on the other side. They passed a group of trees, momentarily losing sight of the monster tornado.

As thunder boomed around them, Stefan gently pried the radio from Caroline's hands, "We're getting hit pretty hard here, you guys better hang back," he said to the rest of their gang.

The others obliged, and hit their brakes, becoming merely distant objects behind them as Stefan, Caroline, and Elena carried on.

The woman in the passenger side dug through her pocket, and pulled out a camera before she used it to start taking pictures of the storm. She glanced at the windows, and noticed rain making its way down the window in an almost sideways manner. "Rain bands," she observed, "Look at the surf coming off of those things."

"Shit," Stefan breathed, "Horizontal rain, hang on," he said, pressing on the accelerator and bringing them onto the bridge and back into view of the twister, which had now split, and become two separate twisters on the sides of the bridge.

"I've never seen it cluttered like this," Caroline said, looking nervously at the sky around them.

"I don't think anyone has," Stefan replied as the twisters moved frighteningly closer to the bridge.

"Stefan," Caroline said shakily, "We're in the core."

Elena's breath hitched as she said this, unbeknownst to Caroline and Stefan. She became even more frightened when they watched the twister on their left side split into two, and Stefan said, "We've got sisters."

"Oh my god," Elena panted, feeling her heart race.

"We're under the flanking line," Caroline muttered.

"I know that," Stefan replied.

"We can't attack this storm from the south, we'll be killed."

"Watch me."

Stefan pressed harder on the accelerator, then watched as the twisters debris flew past them. It was mostly sticks and small objects, but there was one thing in particular that stood out. A cow had been picked up in the chaos, and it was now thrashing in the air as it passed by them, and the three in the truck almost laughed.

"Cow," Caroline said, making the on edge Elena giggle a little.

Suddenly, another cow passed by them from the other direction, "Another cow," Caroline observed.

Stefan shook his head, "I think that's actually the same one," he said, looking out at the twisters, which were moving about in the most unpredictable manner, "Damn it, we've got no path."

Caroline looked out at them anxiously, "This is not good," she panted nervously, "Get us out of here."

"Stefan, I'm gonna agree with Caroline on this one," Elena added.

"I'm trying," Stefan replied, resisting the urge to look at his fiancé.

"Floor it!" Caroline cried.

And floor it, he did. Stefan hit the accelerator even harder, and they approached the center of the storm at a speed that made Elena want to hurl. The twisters got closer and closer to the bridge, and suddenly, one made a move in front of them, and Elena screamed.

"Stefan, look out!" Caroline cried, reaching for the wheel.

"Hold on!" Stefan shouted, slamming on the brakes. They came to a stop just before the twin tornadoes came at them from either side, spinning them in a perpetual whirl on the bridge.

The three of them screamed, and held on to the hand holds on the sides of the truck for dear life, worried that the truck doors would come open, and they'd be sucked into the twisters. The only thing they could hear over the raging winds was the sounds of Stefan and Caroline shouting "Hold on," or various curses, and Elena screaming.

It was over as quickly as it had begun. The twister dissipated above them, leaving them with nothing but a little rain trickling down their windshield. Stefan and Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, and Elena finally stopped screaming, too shaken to do, or say anything.

Stefan and Caroline looked at each other excitedly, as if to say, "Did that just happen?" Then they swiftly undid their seat belts, and threw their doors open, laughing as they swung their legs out of the truck in unison.

"Whoo!" Stefan cried, running in front of the truck and staring up at the sky.

"Did you see that?" Caroline asked, running into Stefan's arms, "Did you see that carousel?"

Stefan nodded, and wrapped his arms around Caroline's waist, lifting her in the air, and spinning her around. He laughed like an idiot the entire time. "It was incredible," He breathed, "I think that was the best one we've ever had."

Caroline pulled away from him, leaving only his one arm wrapped around her waist, and pointed at the sky, "Even though we didn't deploy Dorothy?" She asked.

He grinned at her, "Yes," he replied. They both laughed for a moment, then stopped when they heard a whimper by the truck, and they turned to see Elena shaking as she stepped slowly, and shakily, out of the truck, as if she were intoxicated. She was just scared out of her mind.

Stefan frowned, then he began walking over to his fiancé, "Oh, Elena," he muttered, wrapping her in his arms.

As Stefan comforted Elena, Caroline turned to see her gang of vans approaching her rapidly, Matt's van at the frontline. She ran up to them as they came to a stop, "Did you see that?" She cried as Matt hopped out of his van, Bonnie at his side. The three of them embraced, ignorant of what happened with Elena.

"It's alright," Stefan said softly, "It's okay."

She pulled away from him, tears in her eyes, "No," she said, shaking her head, "I'm not okay, this is not okay!" She buried her head in his chest, and he leaned his head on hers.

"God, Elena," he breathed, "I'm sorry, I didn't think..."

The brunette pulled away from him again, "You know, when you used to tell me that you chased tornados," she said, "Deep down I always thought it was a metaphor." She once again leaned her head on his chest as he gently shushed her, trying his best to calm her nerves.

Meanwhile the entire gang had gotten out of their vans, and Caroline was telling the crazy story of what had happened to them while Bonnie and Damon play fought in the back. They were approaching Stefan's truck as she finished the story with a few dramatic gestures, "Did you see? I was in the middle of it," she said excitedly.

Alaric pushed to the front with his camera, "I hate to ruin the fun," he murmured, "But I think it would be a good idea if we left, because there were too many tornados back there..."

Caroline laughed, "Are you kidding?" She asked, "This thing's not over, we've only seen the start of it!"

Suddenly Tyler cleared his throat, and her attention shifted to him, "Care, some of us could help but notice... We're very close to Wakita," he said, referring to the town in which her mother resided.

The blonde shook her head, "No," she said sternly, hopping up onto Stefan's truck bed, and checking on Dorothy II.

Rebekah spoke up next, "Yeah," she said, "Liz wouldn't mind if we made a stop, would she?"

"No!"

"Red meat," Damon added, "We crave sustenance."

Caroline glared at him, "We are not invading my mom!" She cried. Unfortunately for her, her protests weren't working.

"Food," Damon began to chant, "Food..." Soon enough, Bonnie rolled her eyes, and joined in. Then Klaus. Then Tyler. Then Rebekah. Then Alaric. Then Matt. Once they were all chanting, Caroline slammed her palm into her forehead.

"We are absolutely not going," she said sternly.

~~~

Twenty minutes later the caravan pulled up on a modest house with several garden decorations in the front, and green trimmings. Various wind chimes filled the air with their soft music, and a golden retriever barked from his position on its front porch.

Liz Forbes was sitting in a green rocking chair reading an old crime novel, reminiscing about her days as the town's sheriff. She'd been sheriff for nearly thirty years after Caroline's dad had passed away, feeling as if she had to save as many people as possible since the twister that had nearly taken her life and her daughter's.

Hearing her dog bark, Liz looked up to find all of the familiar vehicles that belonged to her daughter's gang of chasers pulling into her driveway. She gasped in delight when she looked into the driver's side window of the unfamiliar orange one in the front, and saw Stefan Salvatore sitting beside her daughter, waving to her with a smile on his face.

"Stefan!" She cried, standing up as he rolled down the window, and parked the truck.

"Liz!" He exclaimed happily, pulling the truck's front seats forward to allow Elena to climb out of the back, "Come on, Elena," he added as Liz ran up to him and her daughter.

Throughout his and Caroline's marriage, Liz had always been supportive of him. She treated Stefan like her own son, and he had truly bonded with her in the nearly ten years that he and Caroline knew each other. It had been heartbreaking to tell her that he and Caroline were getting divorced. He'd never forget the heartbroken look he'd seen on her face, certain that she was feeling her daughter's pain rather than his.

Stefan ran into Liz's arms, "Liz, how are you?" He asked.

She hugged him back, "It's so great to see you!" She cried.

"It's good to see you too," he replied as they pulled away from each other.

"The other day I was telling Caroline how much I miss you," she confessed as her daughter approached them, and Stefan laughed, "You haven't seen any of my new work..." She gestured to her yard, which had changed since the last time Stefan had visited her.

She then turned to her daughter, and placed a hand on her cheek, "Caroline," she said, observing the dirt that had splattered on her daughter's white tank top, "You look like you've seen some action."

Caroline embraced her mother, "You should've seen it," she said, "We were right in the middle of it."

As Caroline pulled away and walked into her mother's house, Liz stared at the group of chasers that had gathered around them, and smiled, "Hey," she cried as Damon took her in his arms, and kissed her on the cheek.

A thousand hugs, and half an hour later Liz was slaving over her stove, cooking her newly obtained steak, and some eggs at the same time, while her daughter served food to the plates of the hungry chasers.

"You know," Damon said, "They say in a lightning storm, the best thing to do is grab your ankles, and stick your butt in the air."

Bonnie nodded in agreement, "He's right, it's the safest place to get hit," she added.

Klaus laughed, "I'd like to get hit by lightning once," he admitted, "See what it's like."

They all laughed as Caroline approached with a plate full of steaks and tongs, "Guys, make a space," she ordered them, watching as Elena took a seat between Damon and Alaric, the latter of the two moved out of the way to make space for her, moving into the living room where a T.V was on. Caroline then began serving them one by one, and couldn't help her smile at the look of discomfort on Elena's face as she slid a huge slab of meat onto her yellow plate.

At his first taste of the beef, Tyler couldn't help but let out a small moan as Liz served him some of the eggs, "God, Liz, you've got a lot of beef," he breathed, "Where'd you get all of it?"

The blonde in question looked down at him, "Did you see my cows out front today?" She asked.

"No," Tyler replied confusedly.

"There you go."

"Oh," Tyler murmured as Damon began to cackle.

"You slaughter your own cows, Liz, nice," he observed, scooping some mashed potatoes out of a bowl and placing some on Elena's plate, and some on his own.

Suddenly Caroline appeared between him and Elena with a bowl full of delicious smelling gravy, and while she wouldn't admit it, Elena was intrigued. "Grab some while you can," Caroline warned.

Damon's hand was on that bowl within a second, and he was lacing the gravy over his and Elena's potatoes. "Liz's gravy is famous," he explained, "It's practically its own food group."

Elena laughed, "Is it really?" She asked.

"Yes!" Everyone at the table said at the same time.

Elena raised two impressed eyebrows at the same time as Stefan came into the room, rubbing his damp hair with a towel. She could smell his shampoo from where she sat, and watched as he walked towards the table. "Shower's free," he said.

"I'm next!" Caroline cried, making a beeline towards the front door, opening a soda as she went. She didn't notice Stefan in her path until she nearly collided with his chest, and he put his hands up as he let her pass, "Oops," he said, watching her go.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Liz holding out a plate complete with potatoes, eggs, steak, and the famous gravy. "Oh," he breathed, taking the tempting smelling plate out of her hands, "I want that."

While on her way to the shower, Caroline passed the living room, where Matt and Alaric sat in front of the television, where Katherine was talking to a reporter on the screen. She scoffed, "How can you watch this garbage?" She asked.

Stefan set his plate down in the space across from Elena, and made his way towards the television, "Excuse me gentlemen," he said, leaning down and pressing the volume button, making the broadcast easier to hear, "Pardon me, you have to see this."

As Stefan backed away, they all listened to the shit that spewed from Katherine and the reporter's mouths. "What's it like for you, out there to be chasing tornados?" The reporter asked.

"Well," Katherine replied, "For me, it's a thrill. I love the thrill of the hunt."

The people sitting around the screen began to boo at Katherine as she continued, "Man versus nature, battling the elements..."

"Well, as a scientist, can you actually predict tornadoes now?"

"Well, no, they're unpredictable," she said, smiling flirtatiously at the reporter, then staring into the camera, "As some of my more unfortunate colleagues found out today."

"Ugh," Bonnie scoffed, "Turn her off."

"But we hope to change all that," Katherine said on screen, "With a system I have devised."

Damon shook his head, "God she sucks," he muttered, angrily taking a bite of his steak.

"Shut up!" Tyler cried at the screen.

"Boo..."

"Turn her off!"

"What a bitch," Stefan muttered, turning off the T.V.

Caroline laughed, "She really is in love with herself," she commented, "I thought it was just a summer thing." She then walked off to take her shower, feeling the true weight of all the dirt covering her from their first tornado that day.

As she left, Damon turned to the others at the table, "She's going to rue the day," he said, referring to Katherine. Bonnie laughed as he continued, "I'm serious, Bon Bon, she's going to rue the day she came up against The Extreme."

"Hear, hear," Klaus said, raising a glass to Damon.

"Amen," Rebekah added, raising her own glass, then clinking it against her brother’s.

As Stefan sat down, Damon looked his brother in the eyes, "Stefan, I'm talking imminent rue-age," he said.

Elena looked on in confusion, "I was wondering why you call Stefan 'The Extreme'?" She asked.

Damon laughed, then turned his gaze on the brunette beside him, "Cause Stefan is the extreme," he replied as Klaus walked back into the dining room.

"Stefan's the most out of control son-of-a-bitch in the game," Klaus added.

Stefan raised an eyebrow at his brother, "No," he replied, "I think I came in second."

"I've seen the extreme in high gear," Damon said, and Bonnie smacked him.

"You've got to get some new stories," she muttered.

Damon waved her off, and then began to tell his story, "So we get this one near Dalton," he said as the others begin to laugh, "Shhh... We were way too close—we actually had to pull over our trucks and stop to look at it—and Caroline's got the video on it, she's filming it, and all of a sudden, Stefan, who was absolutely fucking drunk, by the way, gets out of Bonnie's truck with a bottle in his hand, and he gets right in the way of the twister, and oh Jesus I can't tell this one." Damon began to laugh maniacally as Stefan shook his head.

"Believe me, I'm glad to hear that," he said, looking up at his fiancé, "You don't have to listen to this."

"After what you pulled earlier?" Elena asked, raising a well-sculpted eyebrow, "I am listening to this."

Damon snickered at his brother, and continued his story, "So, Caroline starts yelling—we were fresh out of college by the way—and Stefan stumbles out of the truck, he's got a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand..."

It was at this point that Klaus interrupted, "And he's naked," he added, standing up, and walking into the kitchen with his coffee cup in his hand.

Damon nodded, "He's butt-naked," he said.

Stefan shook his head defiantly, "Not naked," he protested as the others began to laugh, "I was not naked!"

Rebekah leaned into Elena's ear, "He's without apparel," she whispered.

Stefan sighed, "Half-naked," he admitted, "I was half-naked. I forgot my shirt."

Elena giggled, "Is there anymore to this story?" She asked.

Damon nodded eagerly, "Oh, absolutely," he said, "So, Caroline's yelling at him to get his stupid ass back in the truck, right? So... He strolls up to the twister... And he says, 'have a drink' and he chucks the bottle into the twister and it never hits the ground."

Tyler laughed, "The twister caught it, and sucked it right up," he added.

Stefan hung his head low, feeling Elena's eyes on him, "Elena, this is a tissue of lies," he said, "See there was another Stefan, an evil Stefan, and I killed him."

Damon erupted into laughter, "I loved him!" He exclaimed.

"Moving onto other subjects, that was a good sized twister," Klaus said, walking back into the room with a cup of coffee in his hand, "What was that, an F-3?"

"Solid F-2," Stefan replied.

Elena sighed, "See, now you've lost me again,” She admitted.

"It's the Fujita scale," Stefan explained, "It measures a tornado's intensity by how much it eats."

"Eats?"

"Destroys."

Alaric cleared his throat, "That encounter we had back there was a strong F-2, F-3, maybe," He added.

"Bet we'll see some F-4s today," Matt said hopefully.

"That'd be amazing," Bonnie replied.

"Four is good," Stefan agreed, "Four will relocate your house efficiently."

Elena nodded, "Is there an F-5?" She asked. She wished she hadn't. The instant the words left her lips an awkward silence settled across the room and Stefan looked down into his coffee. She could tell she'd unintentionally struck a nerve. "What would that be like?" She asked.

Klaus looked up at her from across the table, "The finger of God," he replied.

The silence returned to the room, and Elena watched Liz’s expression grow more solemn by the second, "Have any of you ever seen an f-5?" She asked.

Stefan looked his fiancé in the eyes, "Just one of us has," he replied, pointing upstairs where Caroline was taking a shower.

Liz sighed, then slowly stood from the table, "I think I just heard Caroline leave the shower," was the only thing she said on her way out.

They all watched her go, and sat in silence for another moment before anyone even thought to resume conversation. “Caroline was only five years old when it happened,” Stefan said, looking down at his plate, “This enormous F-5 hit her house in the middle of the night, and her father got them all into the cellar on time, but there was one problem.”  
“What was that?”  
“The cellar door had come loose,” Stefan said, remembering the first time Caroline had told him about what happened to her father on their bench in sophomore year….

~~~~  
“The cellar door had come loose,” Caroline said, “And he went up to fix it—he held on for dear life, but he—” She found herself unable to continue the story, and she looked down at the ground, feeling a lump form in her throat. 

“Hey,” Stefan whispered softly, “It’s okay, Caroline, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

She shook her head, “No,” She replied, “I want to.” She looked up at him, and smiled sadly, “It’s about time I tell someone.”

He raised his eyebrows, “You’ve never told anyone before?” He asked.

“There was never an appropriate time,” She replied, “I’m only telling you now because…”  
“Because what?”  
“Because you’re the first person in this place that I’ve been able to trust enough to tell.”

“What about Bonnie? Or Matt?”

“I love them both, but… They’re not you, you’re my best friend.”

“Thank you, I’m flattered.”

Caroline laughed, and looked out at the setting sun over the campus. She looked back at Stefan a moment later to find him staring into her eyes, “What?” She asked. 

“Are you going to finish telling me what happened?” He asked, gesturing for her to continue. 

She sighed, “Right, the story… Anyway, so my dad was holding on for dear life, but…”  
~~~~

“But the twister sucked the door open, and with it, Caroline’s father,” Stefan finished, watching Elena put a hand to her mouth to hide her gasp, “Caroline almost went after him, but her mom held onto her tightly, and she wouldn’t let go.”

Elena looked around at the group, meeting each of their eyes awkwardly, “I’m sorry,” She said, “I shouldn’t have asked those questions.”  
Stefan shook his head, “You didn’t know,” He replied.

Meanwhile Liz came into her bedroom to find her daughter messing with one of her favorite necklaces in front of a mirror. She roughed up her blonde tresses a little, then stared at her reflection.

Liz smiled at her daughter, "You know, no matter what you do, you'll always be beautiful," she said.

Caroline laughed, "Thanks, but, you're biased," she replied.

"Yes I am," Liz confessed, "Sounds like old times down there."

Her daughter nodded, "Yes it does."

Liz stared at the blonde in front of her for a moment, "He didn't keep his promise to you," she said, "To always be there for you whenever you needed someone. In the end he wasn't even your best friend anymore."

"People grow apart, mom," Caroline muttered, "Nothing can change that." She turned to her mother, "But you'd think that he would've at least tried to keep his promise, right?"

Liz shrugged, "I don't know, Stefan always went his own way, but when it came to you, he let you call the shots, he always went in your direction."

"Seems like a long time ago," Caroline whispered.

"Only a year, Caroline. He's here, isn't he?"

Caroline couldn't help the smile that rose to her face as she looked out her mother's window at one of her many yard decorations. She watched its various parts spin around in the wind, reflecting the sunlight that was hitting it. "That is so beautiful," she breathed.

Suddenly, she heard Damon cry out from downstairs, "We've got one, baby!" He cried, "F-3, a mile outside of Parlaine!"

Caroline and Liz ran downstairs as Stefan was carting Elena off to Damon's Van, "Does anyone know where Katherine is?" She asked.

"She's in Milton," Matt replied behind her, "She's more than thirty miles from here."

"We've got to get moving. Can we beat him?" Caroline asked as Liz wrapped her arms around her.

"Thanks for stopping by," her mother said kindly.

She smiled solemnly at Liz, "I'm sorry to eat and run," she apologized.

"It's what you live for!" Her mother exclaimed, kissing her daughter on the cheek.

Suddenly, Stefan ran by Liz on his way to Caroline's truck, "Bye," he whispered, giving Liz a kiss on the cheek.

"Christ, Stefan you almost made me blush!"

"It's just Stefan, but I appreciate the complement, Liz!"

"You bastard."

Stefan chuckled as he hopped into the passenger side of his truck, surprising Caroline.

"Don't you want to drive?" She asked through the open driver’s side window.

He shook his head, "Nah, I figured it was your turn to do it," He replied, tossing her the keys.

"Thanks," she said, putting them into the ignition and starting the truck.

They immediately pulled out of the driveway, and onto the road, ready for their third adventure of the day.


	5. This House, that House, your House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! Busy week, but it's here now!

A few minutes into the drive, Caroline noticed that Elena wasn't sitting in the backseat, and she looked at Stefan in confusion, "Where's Elena?" She asked.

He glanced behind them, "She's with Damon, I figured after what happened last time—"

"I figured," Caroline replied, "This is kind of nice, you know, I'm glad you're here."

"Really? I didn't think you'd be too happy to see me."

"Maybe not on any other day, but today? I'm excited."

"Why?"

"It wouldn't be right to do this if you weren't here," She replied, making a left turn out of Wakita, and onto the highway.

Stefan smirked in the passenger seat, and listened to the radio chatter of the other chasers. There wasn't much to listen to aside from a few weather reports for a few minutes, then he heard something interesting.

"Bonnie," He heard Damon whine, "You promised to ride with me this time."

A pause, then a chuckle, "Yeah, well, you can manage without me," Bonnie replied, "Besides, you've got a girl with you."

"She's not my girl," Damon said, "Though, I wouldn't mind if she was." Stefan then heard a smack over the radio, followed by an "Ow!" from Damon.

He then took hold of their radio, "Watch it, Damon," He muttered sarcastically, "That's my fiancé you're talking about."

He heard his brother laugh maniacally, then Bonnie came back on the radio, "Better watch it, Stefan," She said, "Looks like Damon's going to steal your girl."

"Nah," Damon replied, "There's a different girl I'd like to steal."

They all laughed for a moment, then Stefan pressed the talk button, "Okay, Matt, time to impress me," he said.

"A mile up there's a little detour, we'll walk in the woods," Matt replied.

When that mile passed Stefan and the caravan made a right turn onto a dirt road, their vehicles bouncing over the various bumps in the road.

"It gets bumpy here, folks," Stefan warned over his radio, he then placed it back in its holster, and picked up the wire headset that Caroline would use for her own radio. "Let's get you wired," he said, leaning over the middle of the truck, and placing the headset around Caroline's neck, and looping a wire around her waist.

When his hand accidentally brushed against her breast he blushed, "Excuse me," he muttered, causing Caroline to laugh.

"Nothing you haven't done before," she mumbled as he hooked the radio's battery to one of Caroline's belt loops.

Stefan cleared his throat, then awkwardly moved away from the blonde, "Okay," he said, "You're on."

After readjusting himself in his seat, Stefan picked up his hand held radio, "Okay, Matt what have you got?"

Matt's voice came over the radio not a moment later, "You need to turn left here towards that farm," he said, referring to the enormous cornfield and barn house they were about to pass.

Stefan glanced at his radio in confusion, "Are you sure?" He asked, his eyes drifting worriedly toward Caroline.

She shrugged, then Matt's voice sounded throughout the truck once again, "Uh... Yeah, I'm sure. Trust me, Matt is good, Matt is wise."

"Yeah, right!" Damon shouted into his own radio, the sound being followed by what they all assumed was a smack from Elena.

Caroline burst into laughter, "I knew I liked her."

Stefan laughed briefly, then looked out at his surroundings; corn surrounded them on either side, the stalks nearly as tall as the truck he was sitting in, and at the end of it, a huge bush. "This is a field, Matt," he observed.

"I know!" The sandy haired man exclaimed, "Keep going beyond it, through that bush! You see that bush right in front of you?"

How could Stefan miss it? It was enormous, and very green, its leaves nearly reflected the blinding sunlight back into their eyes. "Yes, we see it," he replied, "What's beyond that?"

"Beyond what?"

"The brush! A brick wall, a ninja turtle, what?"

"Oh, um," Matt began to mumble, and Stefan could hear the rustling of papers in the background, "It's the highway!"

Caroline looked around for a moment as the corn stalks grew taller and taller around them, "Where's the road, Matt?" She asked.

"Should be any moment!"

It wasn't even a second. They burst through the bush and onto the highway at the same time as Katherine's caravan was approaching that very spot. Caroline gasped as she pulled harshly on the wheel to avoid killing both herself, and Katherine. The black mob began honking aggressively as each member of her team got onto the highway, and nearly collided with the other vehicles.

Suddenly, a new voice came over the radio: Katherine's. "You're insane, Caroline," she hissed, "You trying to kill someone?"

Caroline scoffed, "Oh, really, Katherine? It was so nice of you to see ten people on the road and not stop and make sure we were okay—"

At that point, Stefan reached over and took the radio out of his former wife's hands, "Let's keep this channel clear," he muttered.

"That bitch," Caroline breathed.

Stefan gently shushed her, "What did I always tell you when she got on your nerves?"

"Seriously, Stefan?"

"Caroline..."

"You told me to take a deep breath, and think about how we'll get there first, and I will get to shove it in her bitchy face."

"That's right. We're going to get there first, no matter what she does," he said, taking her hand, "Who's going to win?"

She sighed, "We are," she said calmly.

He nodded in agreement, "Good," he replied, looking out at the storm developing in front of them. All he could see was clouds, clouds, and more fucking clouds. They weren't green, or black, just normal clouds. What kind of storm were they chasing? If they were going to have any luck finding this tornado, they'd have to look somewhere else.

"We're going to have to get off of this road," he muttered.

Caroline raised an eyebrow, "This is no time to guess," she said sternly.

He shook his head, "I'm not guessing, just make a right turn. Trust me."

"Do you want to drive?"

"Just turn!"

Caroline obeyed, then she turned a hard right onto another dirt road. The caravan followed, but Katherine did not. Too bad, Caroline thought, she's going to miss a great tornado.

Suddenly, Tyler's voice came over the radio, "We've got a touchdown!" He exclaimed, "Tornado is on the ground. Looks like it's coming down route 33."

Stefan looked at Caroline excitedly, "We're on thirty three."

Caroline adjusted her headset, and spoke into the mic, "What's the path?"

"It's going about thirty five miles an hour," Tyler replied.

Everyone in Caroline's group looked out their windows for the mysterious speed tornado, but it was nowhere in sight. "Where? Where? Where? Where?" Stefan muttered, looking out all of the windows in the truck.

Caroline sighed, "Matt, we need a direction."

"North northeast!"

Stefan's expression grew worried, "Shit, it's coming right at us," he breathed.

"Do you see it?" Caroline panted.

"No."

Stefan picked up the radio, "Matt, we do not have a visual," he said, "I repeat, we don't have a visual."

"Where is it?" Caroline asked, staring up at the hill they were approaching.

"If you're going east on seven, it should be coming right over that hill in a matter of minutes," Matt replied.

"It's gotta be there," Stefan breathed.

Caroline shrugged, "Maybe it stalled," she suggested.

"No... I think Matt's right," Stefan replied as they approached the hill, where a series of black, swirling clouds was slowly becoming visible, "It's gonna show its ugly face over that hill. Caroline, what do you think?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Caroline turned her eyes back on the road.

"You going to go for it, Caroline?" Damon's voice crackled over the radio.

A grin appeared on the face of the blonde in question, "Time for deployment," she said slyly, "Let's do it."

It was at that moment that heavy rain and hail began to fall from the black clouds, "We've got hail," Caroline announced.

Upon hearing their leader's announcement, the chasers pulled over onto the side of the road, and set up their equipment, consisting of umbrellas, chairs—Damon's chairs mostly— and radar.

The black funnel began to slowly descend towards the ground, and touched it with the grace of a ballerina with two broken legs. The group watched in awe as it began wreaking havoc on the road in front of them.

Suddenly, Caroline's voice came over the radio, "Upflow! Matt we have Upflow!" She cried.

"I'm checking it," Matt replied, "She's almost up!"

Caroline looked at the black mass of clouds above them, then turned to Stefan, "It's time," she said.

He nodded, and unbuckled his seatbelt, "I'll get Dorothy ready," he replied, reaching over to the back window of the truck, opening it, then slowly stepping out into the truck bed. Dorothy rested peacefully in the center of the bed, strapped down to the truck by various cables—which Stefan narrowly avoided tripping over—and safe from any hail damage thanks to her design.

Stefan however, was not safe from the hail. He was struck by several pieces of golf ball sized ice on his way to Dorothy, and he threw his jacket over his head in a last ditch effort to protect himself. He grabbed onto one of the metal rails surrounding Dorothy, and steadied his shaking body.

"Are you okay?" Caroline shouted at him, looking worriedly into the rearview mirror.

He looked back at her briefly, "Yes!" He replied, "Keep going!" Then he turned around, and despite the fact that he was getting pelted by rain and hail, he pushed on.

Stefan swiftly turned on all of Dorothy's switches, her red lights beginning to flash as he moved around her. He pressed an orange button on the side, then gave Caroline a nod.

Next thing he knew, debris from the swirling black twister in front of them began to rain down on the truck. "We have debris!" Caroline announced.

Stefan then hastily tried to undo the cables holding Dorothy onto the back of their truck, and grunted in frustration when they wouldn't budge.

Meanwhile Damon was staring at Stefan and Caroline's truck as it headed straight for the tornado through a camera lens. He laughed in delight, "Elena! Take a peek!" He cried.

The brunette beside him was looking on at the twister terrified as she tried to keep her dampening hair out of her face, and fix the breaking umbrella in her hands. "No!" She cried, "I don't want to."

Damon gave her a pouty face, "You can really feel it with a telephoto lens!" He protested.

"No!"

"Aw, come on! What's the matter?"

Elena looked at the madness surrounding her. From the sights of all the chasers desperately attempting to film the twister and others reading data from laptops to the sight of the thing itself creating chaos everywhere it went. Eventually, she snapped, "You're all crazy!" She cried, "You know that?"

"What?" Damon replied, cupping his ear to hear her better.

Suddenly Caroline's voice came over the radio, preventing Elena from repeating her judgement, "Damon, are you set up yet? We're not leaving till we get this."

Elena scoffed, "She's even crazier than all of you!"

Damon heard her that time, "And what about Stefan?" He asked bitterly, "Your fiancé? What about him?"

She shook her head, "He's crazy too," She breathed, "This is crazy, all of it—it's too much!"

Back on the orange truck to hell, Stefan finally finished preparing Dorothy for deployment, and he turned to tell Caroline the news, when he was nearly struck by a branch flying straight towards him. He suavely dodged the branch, then he opened the back window, "She's almost ready!" He announced.

Caroline gave him a nod, "Hold on," she said, then she spoke into her headset, "We're almost there!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she watched in awe as the twister tossed a boat straight over their heads, "Wow," she breathed, almost laughing when she heard Stefan's, "Shit!" a second later.

Suddenly Stefan lunged back towards the main part of the truck, "Stop, this is fine!" He shouted.

Caroline slammed on the brakes, only to have her windshield get assaulted by a red bicycle, which quickly fell off, "Oh shit," she muttered, jumping out of the truck to help Stefan.

"Hurry!" Stefan cried, "Get the tailgate!"

The blonde obeyed, and ran to the back of the truck before practically throwing the tail gate open. "You got it?" She asked.

Stefan nodded, "She's all set," he said, "Help me get her down!"

The two immediately got to work on the cables that still held Dorothy in her place, Stefan wincing in pain at a cut on his hand. Ahead of them, the twister tore an electric cable from the ground, sparking an explosion that boomed throughout the surrounding area.

"Damn!" Stefan cried, running over to Caroline, "We've got to go!"

She shook her head, "We can do this!" She protested, aggressively attempting to loosen the wire, but to her dismay, it was stuck.

"It's stuck!" Stefan announced, then he looked up in horror as the twister approached the remaining electric cables, causing sparks to ripple through them, and some to be sucked into the twister's swirling blackness.

Suddenly, the cable pole nearest to them began to wobble, "Stefan!" Caroline cried, pointing worriedly at the wobbling cable.

The man beside her looked up at the pole as it began to fall, then he grabbed his former wife by the shoulders, and moved them both out of the way just as the pole fell onto his truck. The force of the fall then caused the sparking pole to bounce up, and push Dorothy off of the truck, and onto her side on the road. Her hundreds of sensors spilled all over the asphalt. Dorothy II was lost.

The two then looked up at the monstrous twister only to see it dissipate suddenly in front of them, "Where'd it go?" Stefan asked in confusion, looking out at the black clouds. "Where is it?" Caroline asked at the same time.

Stefan removed his jacket from his head, glanced at Caroline, then back at what had a minute ago been a horrifying F-3 tornado.

"Stefan," Caroline said cautiously, "Tornadoes don't just disappear like that."

He nodded, "I know," he murmured.

Suddenly Matt's voice came over the radio, "Stefan, Caroline, it's over," he announced disappointedly, "The thing was stable, then it... It's gone."

Unfortunately, Matt was wrong. The roar of the twister picked up again, then Stefan and Caroline watched as the black clouds began to swirl once again, and the funnel slowly made its way towards the ground.

"It's back building!" Caroline shouted.

"It's not through yet!" Stefan cried in agreement, "You're right it's back building. We've got a jumper here."

Caroline adjusted the mouth piece of her headset, "Alaric, it's back building, you've got to track it," she commanded him.

"Yeah, Caroline, we know," he replied, "Data's incomplete. I think you guys should get out of there!"

The blonde ignored him, and set to work on picking up Dorothy's hundreds of sensors that had spilled out onto the road, "Stefan, help!" She cried, "Help me!"

He shook his head, "Caroline, we should leave," He replied, reaching for her arms as she desperately tried to grab the sensors, seeming to come apart in front of him.

"No! No! No!"

"Forget the sensors!"

"Help me!"

He finally wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her up, "We've got to get out of here now!" He cried.

"Tyler will see it if it drops!" She protested.

Stefan shook his head as he dragged her to the passenger side of the truck, "It's not going to drop anywhere near us!" He cried, "It's going to drop right on us!"

Almost immediately after he said that the twister dropped down a few dozen yards away from them, and Stefan hurriedly ran over to the drivers side, threw himself inside, and the truck into reverse.

"We can still do this," Caroline said, feeling as though she were about to cry, "Help me!"

Stefan began to back the truck up, unintentionally crashing into the ruined carcass of Dorothy as he did so. "No!" Caroline cried, "Go back!"

"Forget it, Caroline," Stefan shouted.

"Go back! It's not too late!"

Stefan ignored her, then he stopped the truck and prepared to shift it into drive, "Forget it, Caroline, it's too late," he protested, but Caroline had already thrown the door open, and began to run back to the wreckage of Dorothy.

"Shit," he breathed, putting the truck into park before he raced after her.

"What are you doing?!" He cried as she bent over to pick up the sensors, "The pack's wasted, it's over!"

She stood suddenly, and faced him, her wet hair whipping around her face, "What is wrong with you?" She cried, "We can still do this!"

"Listen to you! You're obsessed!"

"You've never seen what that thing can do!" Caroline cried suddenly, "So don't talk to me—"

Stefan pointed at the twister, "I just saw it!" He shouted.

She shook her head, "You've never seen it," she said calmly, letting a sob escape from her mouth, relieving the lump in her throat, "You've never seen it miss this house, miss that house, and come after you."

They stood in silence for a second, then Stefan realized what she meant, realized the entire reason why she'd been so obsessed with getting Dorothy into the air all afternoon, "God, Caroline," he breathed, "Is that what you think it did?"

She looked away from him, "It's hard to think it did anything else," She said, letting a tear fall from her eye as she looked out at the fallen sensors.

"Why don't you understand that it was unpredictable? That it couldn't choose its own path?" Stefan asked.

She turned to him, "You don't understand," she sobbed, reaching for the sensors once again, "You'll never know!"

Stefan sighed, then walked in front of her, "When's it going to be enough?" He asked, "How close do you have to get? Talk to me, Caroline." He grabbed her arm, then gently pulled her up so she faced him, "Things go wrong," he said solemnly, "You can't explain it, you can't predict it! And killing yourself won't bring your dad back! I'm sorry he died, but it was a long time ago! You've got to move on! Stop living in the past, and look at what's right in front of you!"

"What are you saying?" Caroline asked calmly.

"Me, Caroline," He replied, gently pointing to his own chest, "You had me." Stefan then walked back towards the truck, got in the driver's side, and waited until Caroline was sitting beside him before he finally left the disaster site.

Meanwhile the crew of chasers stood in silence staring at their radios. Since Caroline had had her headset attached the entire time, they'd heard every word. But they weren't the only ones, Elena, who now stood soaking wet, and bitterly beside Damon, had also heard the entire exchange herself.

The chasers left the scene bitterly, Stefan and Caroline once again taking the lead as they headed back into town, where they would stop for the night to rest. The day had left each of them more exhausted than the last, and no one was more tired than Caroline, who was nearly falling asleep in the truck.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked, after watching her shake herself awake for the third time.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine," She replied, looking away from him, "I'm just tired."

"You should sleep."

Caroline turned to him, sadness prominent in her eyes, "I can't," She breathed, "Every time I close my eyes…"

Stefan took her hand in his, "It's alright, Caroline," He replied, "It's over."

She looked down at his hand, then sat straight up in alarm when she saw the untreated, and still bleeding cut on his knuckle, "You're bleeding," She observed worriedly, looking into his eyes. He let go of her hand, "It's nothing," He muttered.

Caroline scoffed, then reached down into the glove box, and pulled out her small, but efficient first aid kit. "You always said it was nothing back then, too," She said, "It was always, 'I'm fine, Caroline,' or 'I don't need a band aid, Caroline,' or, 'It's not going to get infected, Caroline.'"

Before he could say anything else, she removed the bandaid from its wrapping, and gently placed it over his wound, "We'll clean it later," She murmured, "I don't have any alcohol in here."

"Alcohol? That hurts."

"But it cleans the wound properly, Stefan."

"Maybe, but it still hurts."

"Stop talking, you big baby."

Stefan found himself smiling, "Weren't you feeling tired a minute ago?" He asked, "Go take a nap."

Caroline grimaced, but slowly leaned back against her seat, and closed her eyes.


	6. At the Drive-in Movie

That night, the chasers stopped at a motel an hour Southwest of Wakita. However, it wasn't the motel they were currently using, but instead a warehouse owned by Tyler where they'd all parked their vehicles for the night. They were all sitting in silence, reading data or radar maps, but for the most part not talking to each other, it felt wrong for anyone to say anything.

The instant they'd arrived at the motel and settled in, Elena had started giving him the silent treatment, and he'd left to hang out with the chasers in the warehouse. As he walked in, he was given several awkward, yet judgmental stares as he passed them. Bonnie and Damon's whispers shushed to a halt as soon as he walked by, and he raised a confused eyebrow, but moved on until he found his own truck, and stopped in front of it before leaning against it, and staring out at the flashes of lightning in the approaching clouds.

The thunder boomed overhead, and in the distance, the faint sounds of the movie The Shining could be heard from the drive in theater next to the warehouse. Stefan remembered watching that movie with Caroline on one of their many stay at home dates. She'd hated it. He laughed at the memory of her hitting him with a pillow whilst screaming, "Why did you make me watch that?" over and over again.

~~~

"Why'd you make me watch that?!" Caroline screamed at him as she hit him with the pillow for what he was certain was the thirtieth time. He laughed in response, then reached up, and tickled her sides, making her squeal and drop the pillow before she could hit him again.

"That's not fair!" She cried, taking his face in her hands and kissing him.

When she pulled away, Caroline smiled, then brushed a strand of hair off of Stefan's face. "You're such an idiot," She muttered.

"But you love me anyway."

She nodded, "Of course I do," She said softly, before kissing him again.

~~~~

At that moment, the blonde occupying Stefan's thoughts walked out from where she'd stood by Matt and Bonnie's van, and handed a backpack to Bonnie and Damon as she approached them. The two had been studying the evening's radar, concerned that conditions were ripe for a tornado.

Her only hope was that they could deploy Dorothy if one happened.

As Bonnie handed her a series of papers—her divorce papers, to be precise— she looked up to see Stefan, and she then looked back at her papers.

She knew she had to sign them, she knew, but every fiber in her being was telling her not to do it. She was trying her hardest to ignore that voice. It was too late for her and Stefan, and she knew that, but part of her still said "maybe there's hope," and, "Maybe when I wake up in the morning, Elena will be gone, and all of this will be some ridiculous nightmare."

Neither scenario was possible. But somehow when she looked at Stefan, she sensed he, despite keeping his distance from her, still held out a small hope that they'd be together in the end, too.

Meanwhile Elena was pacing in her and Stefan's motel room, listening to a weatherman ramble about on the television. She flopped on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling with a dramatic sigh.

That afternoon had been the worst in her lifetime, all she'd heard that day... "you had me, Caroline," and every other time Stefan and Caroline had interacted... There was something between them, and she knew it. She was well aware that Caroline wasn't over Stefan, but after the day they'd all spent together, she realized that Stefan was still in love with Caroline.

At least, she knew a part of him was, and that part of him that loved Caroline was bigger than the part that loved her. The realization brought tears to her eyes. As long as she and Stefan were together, he'd always be wishing he was with Caroline... And if he was wishing he was with her... How long would they have together before they were torn apart?

I have to leave him, she thought, I have to get out now.

Elena tore her eyes away from the ceiling, and wiped away the tear that had fallen down her face. She had made up her mind, she was going to leave Stefan that evening. She only had to tell him first, he at least deserved that.

"There have been tornado sightings," the reporter said on the television, causing Elena to turn her attention onto the screen, "The latest reported just to the northeast of Canton a few minutes ago. And hold on a second I've just been handed this— this is official now, a tornado has been reported moving through canton a few minutes ago."

As Elena watched the weather reports in her hotel room, Caroline walked into the Galaxy Theater's Snack Shack as it was called, divorce papers in tow. She was going to sign the papers, but first she needed coffees for her team, and a pen to sign them.

She leaned into the order window, where two red-stripe uniformed employees were chattering obnoxiously, "Excuse me," she called out to them, turning their attention on her, "Can I have eight coffees to go, please?"

"Eight?" One of the girls in the snack shack asked. Caroline gave her a nod, and the girl set to work on making their coffee.

While she wasn't looking, Caroline reached down and grabbed a black pen off of a tray resting just inside the window, and walked away towards a red picnic table in front of the shack. She sat down, and got to work on the papers. It took all her will not to cry as she signed "Caroline Forbes," on the black line on the only unsigned page in the document.

"You can do this Caroline," she breathed as she finished signing her name on the second line on the page. She then stood, and walked over to the counter to return the borrowed pen at the same time as Stefan strolled up to the order counter.

Thank god she hadn't been crying when she signed those papers.

"Two coffees, please," Stefan told the women inside the shack, who were currently preoccupied with Caroline's order. He then turned to Caroline, who was leaning casually against the counter, "Long day," he said, trying to spark a conversation.

She said nothing to him, fearing that anything she said would ruin the good vibe that had been running between them that day.

Stefan sighed, "You know, I've been thinking about the sensors," he confessed, "The way they scattered out there today on the highway... I'm starting to wonder if the funnel will carry them."

It took her a second, but she found the strength to look up at him, and say something back, "Do you think it's too light?" She asked.

He shrugged, "I'm not sure, maybe the whole thing is too light," He replied.

"What can we do?"

"I'm not sure."

Caroline looked up at Stefan, "Why are you still here?" She asked, "You could've left after that last hunt, but you're here, you got a motel room and everything. Why did you do that?"

He leaned against the counter, "Well... Elena and I were both tired after the day, and we decided to stop for the night. Besides, it doesn't feel right to leave when our work isn't done yet."

Caroline nodded, "So, you chose to stay? For Dorothy?" She asked.

"Not just for Dorothy."

In the motel room, Elena was rehearsing in her head the things she'd say to Stefan whilst twirling her engagement ring around her finger, but none of them were working out. There was nothing she could think of to say to him. She just wanted to leave, and forget about him, and what happened, and how he'd managed to destroy their relationship in just one day.

If only it were that simple.

"This is a very dangerous situation," the reporter on the T.V said, and Elena ignored him, feeling irritated at the sound of his professional panic.

Suddenly, the screen turned to static, and the weatherman was gone, Elena stopped twirling her ring and wallowing in self pity, and sat straight up, staring at the screen.

After a moment had passed, and the static still hadn't ceased, Elena reached for the remote, and turned it off. With the noise of the T.V gone, all she could hear was the faintest of whistling noises, and the slight flapping of the curtains by her open window.

Elena then stood, and slowly walked out of her motel room, suddenly realizing that something was very wrong.

Meanwhile Stefan was receiving his coffee order, which he'd gotten before Caroline got hers due to the smaller size of his. "Thank you," he said to the worker in the shack, then he began to walk away before he heard the static of the T.V the girls had been watching. He turned his attention on the static, and tapped Caroline, who was still standing beside him, "Look," he whispered.

The blonde looked up, and stared worriedly at the static, then up at the storm above them, suddenly worried that the tornado Damon and Bonnie had thought was possible had started to form, or worse, it had touched down nearby.

Stefan then set his coffee cups down on a picnic table, walked out away from the shack, and stared out into the distance beyond the movie screen where someone was about to be brutally murdered in the movie playing. Caroline followed suit, and soon the two of them were looking out worriedly into the thunderstorm that had lingered over them for the past hour.

The wind blew Caroline's hair off of her shoulders and onto her back as she searched the sky for a sign of something gone awry and silently hoped that she was just being paranoid.

A bolt of lightning lit up the night sky, revealing an endless sea of clouds, and an outhouse behind the movie screen. It lit up the silhouette of the pine trees on the horizon, which were swaying wildly in the wind.

"Stefan," she said uneasily, and he was by her side in an instant, taking her hand in his. He was completely unaware that Elena had been walking up behind them, and was watching the whole thing.

"Something's wrong," he replied, staring out at the sky, "Something's very wrong."

Suddenly, another bolt of lightning lit up the sky beyond the theater, but this time, something different appeared in the light. Elena audibly gasped, a sound which registered in Caroline and Stefan's ears, but did not break them apart. They were too stunned by the sight in front of them.

Next thing they knew, Damon was running straight toward them in panic, "Caroline! Stefan!" He cried, "It's coming! It's headed right for us!" He then ran, grabbing Bonnie's arm as he rushed toward the warehouse.

"It's already here," Stefan said shakily, "Everybody take cover now!"

As soon as Stefan finished speaking, the tornado sirens went off, and the wind picked up speed with a new fury that he hadn't seen before in a long time. This was going to be a strong one, he could feel it.

"Stefan!" He heard Elena shout from behind him, and he turned around, running towards her.

"Elena!" He cried, taking her hand, and leading her towards the warehouse as the oncoming storm kicked up dirt on the road.

As they ran, Stefan looked back at the sky beyond the movie screen, and got another glimpse at the massive brown twister swirling straight towards him, and everyone else parked at that theater. He also saw Caroline standing there in front of the snack shack, watching the force of nature in awe.

"Caroline, let's go!" He cried as he approached the warehouse.

Caroline couldn't move, half in awe and half in fear as she watched the twister move closer and closer to the movie screen, which was about to be torn apart.

"Caroline, come on!"

Stefan's second shout was enough to wake her from her stupor, and she ran over to the shack, and banged on the window, once again catching the attention of the women inside. "Get underground!" She cried, "Take cover now!"

As the women ran out of the shack, Caroline ran for the warehouse, which had a half underground section where the group could take shelter in. She watched in horror as people ran in masses from their cars, screaming as they tried to get as far away as possible from the swirling monstrosity behind them.

"Doors!" Damon cried, running into the main entrance of the warehouse, "Close the doors!" As soon as he and Bonnie were inside, the command was obeyed, then he appeared at a side door, and shouted for Caroline and Stefan, "Come on!" He cried.

Stefan and Elena reached the door first, then Caroline ran in after, and Damon slammed it shut. The chasers then ran down the stairs and into the underground area of the warehouse, which was known as the pit, and contained some car repair supplies that were no longer in use.

The smell was unbearable, especially once they were all lined up against the walls, and squashed against each other. "Everybody down!" Stefan shouted, holding Elena tightly against his chest. Unfortunately, no one heard him over the sounds of their own squabbling, and the oncoming twister.

They all stood side by side panting as the twister screeched above them, threatening to tear the steel panels on the roof thirty feet above their heads away, and rip them apart.

Suddenly the glass in the warehouse burst inward, raining down harshly on the chasers, causing cuts to the arms of anyone without long sleeves. Mercifully, this was only one person, Rebekah.

"Get down!" Klaus shouted, protectively holding his sister as they all squatted close to the ground and placed their hands over their heads.

The chasers and Elena all looked up fearfully as soon as the glass rain ceased, and listened as the whistling of the winds grew louder and louder until they were certain the tornado was on top of them. It began to tear away the steel panels on the roof, giving them a view of the glowing sign reading, "Galaxy Drive-in Theater."

A steel beam broke above them, and hovered over their heads, suspended by a cable that was dangling by a thread. "Everybody stay calm!" Stefan cried.

The twister ripped away more and more panels, then it knocked a hose out of its place on the wall across from Klaus, the snake like object whipped around and smacked into several chasers, who cried out in pain.

Klaus immediately crawled over to it, and lunged for the writhing hose, catching it on the first grab. He laughed delightedly, "I got it!" He shouted.

He wasn't able to enjoy his victory for very long, for the last window in the warehouse burst open at that moment, several steel tire rims flew at him like frisbees, one of them running across his forehead. When it was gone, Klaus was bleeding, and he sat down clutching his head in pain.

Caroline was next to him in a flash, holding her hand against his wound, "You're okay!" She shouted, hovering protectively over her wounded colleague, "You're going to be okay!"

"My head!" Klaus exclaimed as Damon came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, the howling of the winds was interrupted by the sounds of Elena screaming, "It's not okay!" She screamed, "It's not okay!"

Stefan ran a hand through her hair, attempting to sooth her, "It'll be over soon!" He shouted, his eyes finding Caroline's staring sympathetically back at him.

"This is insane!"

"Stay calm!"

"This is driving me crazy! I don't want to do this!"

Stefan sighed, then he looked down at his distressed fiancé, just as a truck came flying through the broken roof, and crashed into the wall on the far side of the warehouse. The noise made all of them flinch, and curl up into tighter balls. A series of sparks flew down onto them as the "Galaxy Drive-in" sign flew through the hole the truck had left, and landed on the edge of the pit, right over their heads.

Elena let out a blood curdling scream as the sparks flew around them. "It's okay, Elena," Stefan breathed, "I'm so sorry."

It was then that the howling turned back into whistling, and the debris stopped flying around them. Caroline looked up at the sky to see nothing but dangling steel and the occasional lightning strike. The terror was over.

The lights flickered, and then went out as they all stood, and slowly made their way out of the pit. They were all silent as they looked around the nearly destroyed warehouse in disbelief, the twister had nearly destroyed everything. Fortunately, their caravan of vehicles remained intact—for the most part.

It wasn't until they heard a police siren approaching that they realized they were safe to go back outside, and see the damage the twister had done to the Galaxy, the motel, and whatever the hell else it could've wrecked.

"Matt, help me open the door," Damon said suddenly, breaking the silence. The two men took the doors to the main entrance of the warehouse, and slowly pushed them open as the police car pulled into the lot. Caroline was the first to get out and look around at the carnage, followed by Stefan and Elena, then Matt, who groaned at the sight of his wrecked van.

"Oh, look at the van, it's trashed," he muttered.

Damon laughed half-heartedly in response, "Guess you and Bon Bon will have to ride with me."

Bonnie smiled weakly at Damon, then looked down to find a cut on her hand, "Dammit," she growled, "Damon, do you—?"

The dark haired man nodded, "Yes, come here," he replied, then he and Bonnie disappeared behind the other wall of the warehouse, leaving Matt with Stefan and Elena.

Damon hopped up into his minibus, and glanced at the still on television in the area behind his seat before he reached into the glovebox and gave Bonnie his first aid kit.

"Need help?" He asked.

She shook her head, and leaned against the side of the massive van, "I'm fine," she replied, "Just a little shaken up. That was a little too close for me."

Damon nodded, "Me too," he gave her a grin, "But hey, at least we saw some action today, and it wasn't just the Caroline and Stefan show."

She laughed briefly, and he turned around and watched the weather report being given on his mini television, "Of course, tornado activity continues," the reporter said, "Reports from Farrington indicate that a drive-in was blown away..."

"No kidding," Damon muttered, then his smart ass grin dropped from his face when a radar image of a storm with a very pronounced hook appeared, and the hook was positioned over Wakita. Liz was in Wakita. Caroline's mother was in Wakita.

A moment later Caroline approached Damon's van, where he had moved from watching the television to reading radar maps and other data on a computer screen, with Bonnie Bennett looking over his shoulder. "Can you tell which way it's headed?" She asked.

"It's banking northeast," Damon replied, and then a worried look appeared in his eyes, "It looks to hit Wakita head on."

Alarms went off rapidly in Caroline's head, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Stefan turn around from where he'd been standing near the warehouse entrance, a similar look of fear displayed on his own face.

Damon immediately jumped into the driver's seat, and Bonnie jumped into the seat beside him, "Matt, let's go!" She shouted, the man she was shouting for appearing only a moment later, breathless from running.

Caroline then ran rapidly towards the other chasers, who were getting into their own vehicles. "I'm going," she muttered, "It's my mother! Where's the phone?!"

"The lines are down," Stefan said as she passed him.

"I'm going," she replied, "I've got to know if she's alright."

He sighed, "Dammit, alright, I'll go with Caroline," he growled tossing Caroline the keys to his truck, and walking over to Elena who stood with her back to him about thirty feet away. He grabbed her arm, then gently turned her around, "Elena, it's Liz, I've got to go," he said quietly.

She nodded, her eyes appearing misty to Stefan, "I'm going back," she replied.

He sighed in relief, "Good, good, you'll be safe at the motel," he breathed, "I'll see you in the morning." He then pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, and she pulled away from him.

"I won't be there," she said shakily, looking away from him as a tear made its way down her cheek.

"What?" Stefan asked confusedly, "Why? What are you saying?"

She shook her head, smiling solemnly, "I'm saying goodbye," she confessed, "Because I can't spend the rest of my life knowing that you still love her, you'll always love her, more so than you love me. Don't deny it Stefan, we both know it's true. I can't compete with her; I don't even know where to start."

Stefan took her hand, "Don't do this," he whispered, "Please."

She ripped her hand away, and placed it on his cheek, "It would've ended sooner or later, we both know that," she replied, "When we met, , we both said that we were recovering from heartbreak. From then on we hung onto each other because without the other to hold on to, we'd break. But you... You let go of me the minute you came here and saw her again, and when you let me go, I didn't even realize it until you were on that hill earlier. For a minute there, I was so sad, I was really, really sad, but now... I'm not that upset. What does that mean?"

It was then that Tyler ran across the front of the warehouse shouting, "We can do this! Come on, let's move!"

Stefan gave him a nod, then looked back at Elena, "I'm sorry," he breathed, "I never meant for this to happen."

She nodded, then leaned in, and gave him a brief goodbye kiss, "I know, Stefan," she said, "I know."

Before Stefan could respond, his attention was once again stolen by another chaser, this time it was Damon shouting at him from the inside of his enormous van, "Stefan, come on!" He shouted.

Elena looked out at the scene, where all the chasers were running about, eager to get on the road to find Liz, "You go ahead," she muttered, "She needs you. I hope Liz is okay, she was a good person."

"What about you?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, I know my way home."

Then Stefan watched as Elena turned, and walked away from him, leaving him standing with only two options, leave, or help Caroline. He gladly made his choice, and ran over to Caroline's truck. When he got there her hands were shaking so badly she couldn't put the keys into the lock on the driver's side door. "Fuck," she mumbled, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She slammed her palm into the truck's side as Stefan approached, and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Caroline," he breathed, holding his hand out for the keys.

Her hand shook as she handed them over to him, and breathed in deeply, "I can't lose her S-Stefan," she whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she turned around and buried her head in his chest, her hands pinned against his sternum. "Shhhhh," he whispered into her ear, "It's okay, but we've got to get going."

"What about Elena?" She asked, pulling away from him, and looking around for the brunette.

He shook his head, "She left," he replied, "Don't worry about her, she's fine, but right now we need to get to Liz as quickly as possible."

Caroline nodded in agreement, "Let's go!" She shouted, running around to the passenger side of her truck, and throwing the door open.

Stefan followed suit, and soon, they were on their way to Wakita, both praying that they'd find Liz safe in her house, and alive.


	7. The Rescuers

The ride to Wakita was the most intense thirty five minutes of Stefan and Caroline's lives. For the most part, the two were completely silent. The only noises were Caroline's occasional sniffles, and Stefan's sighs. 

At some point, Stefan had laced his fingers through Caroline's, and she'd gripped his hand tightly. It was almost enough for him to lose concentration on the road in front of him, which he was starting to notice was increasingly full of debris. The twister had passed through here, and they were approaching wakita. 

Trees were flattened, sometimes even jutting out into the road, forcing Stefan to swerve to avoid them. Each time he did so, he could hear Caroline's breath hitch, and she'd gulp nervously. 

Suddenly, she turned to him, and said, "Stefan, I think we're too late."

He didn't dare take his eyes off of the road, not at the crucial moment they were in, but he squeezed her hand, and told her, "Whenever I didn't have faith that everything was going to be okay, you were the one pulling me back from the edge. It was you who encouraged me to pursue chasing with you, and believed that what we were doing was going to make a difference. When we developed Dorothy, that's when we finally did make a difference. When we find your mother, she’s going to be fine. She’s Liz Forbes. She can survive anything. And you’re her daughter, so whatever we find, you’ll survive it too, cause you’re one of the strongest people I know."

Caroline stared at him, watching the corner of his mouth turn up in a satisfied grin, and remembering all of the times she'd told him it would be okay. And now it was his turn. As they approached the town sign reading "Wakita, 5 miles," she took a deep breath, and told herself that everything would be okay. 

Meanwhile in Damon's bus, Matt was constantly checking the radar maps, and updating the other chasers on the storm as Damon and Bonnie drove. Since Matt’s van was destroyed, Tyler was left to navigate, and as of his last report, they were about five miles outside of Wakita. 

As of Matt's last report, however, the storm was moving on from Wakita, and was headed elsewhere to, "fuck up some other poor town." This meant that the destruction was already done in Wakita. Whatever had happened there, they were too late to save anyone from the destruction. 

When Damon heard the news, he damn near slammed into the back of Klaus and Rebekah's van. If it weren't for Bonnie shouting at him to get his "dumb ass focused," they would have had another problem to contend with. She gently rubbed his shoulder, and told him that Liz was tough, and that she could survive anything. 

"But how do you know that?" He asked, "Liz Forbes is a wonderful woman, but even she can't fight nature and win, Bonnie."

"Liz is smart, she would've run to her cellar at the first sign of trouble, Damon," she assured him, "I promise you, she's okay."

Damon shook his head, and briefly glanced in the rear view mirror, where he could see Matt busily studying the radar maps. Then he looked back at the road, and took a deep breath, "How are you this calm, Bon Bon?"

Bonnie chuckled lightly, "I'm freaking out just as badly as you are, but between the two of us, someone has to keep a level head, and usually, it's me. I'm trying to think like Caroline. I'm thinking..."

"What're you thinking, Bon?"

"I'm thinking... we're going to find Liz alive and well, we're going to successfully deploy Dorothy, and we will finally be able to develop our prediction system the way we've wanted to since college."

Damon laughed, "That sounds like a plan, Bon," he muttered, "Tell you what, if all that happens, I might just kiss you."

Bonnie felt herself smile a little, "Like you need an excuse," she replied quietly. 

Behind them, Matt raised an eyebrow, and pretended to have heard nothing. 

Damon glanced in the rearview mirror, and grinned, “I saw that, Donovan,” he whispered teasingly.

Bonnie smacked him playfully on the shoulder, and they both lightheartedly chuckled one last time before they focused solely on getting to Wakita. 

Back in Stefan and Caroline's van, they had been silent for a few more minutes after their inspirational conversation, only breaking the silence when they came upon the collapsed "Wakita: population 503," sign, with a fallen power line sparking on top of it. 

"Oh my god," Caroline murmured, peering intently over the front of the truck as the damaged town came into view. It was worse than she imagined. 

The drugstore that usually greeted her whenever she rode into town was in abysmal shape, barely standing, and looking to collapse at any moment. The other businesses surrounding it had been reduced to rubble. 

The residential area was even worse. Most houses were gone. Just wiped off of the map. They had either collapsed partially or entirely, leaving stunned and injured families outside. The newly homeless people stood gazing at the destruction in shock. Most of them held each other tightly, and many were crying. 

Caroline looked on at a particular family of three, the husband and wife holding each other tightly while their little blonde girl stared intently at Stefan and Caroline's truck, and watched them pass by. "They had no warning," Caroline said somberly.

Stefan let go of the wheel with one hand, and took her left hand in his, giving it a light squeeze as he approached the house they were looking for. "We're almost there," he told her, "Are you ready for this?"

She gave him a firm nod, "Yes, I am," she replied, "She has to be alive. She has to be. My mom wouldn't..."

"I know."

At that moment, Liz Forbes's house came into view. At first it appeared to still be standing, but upon a second glance, it was visibly obvious that the first floor had collapsed, leaving the house in a dangerous position. Too much movement inside would cause it to collapse, killing anyone inside. 

"Oh my god," Caroline whimpered, opening the door before Stefan had even stopped the truck. She ignored his cries for her as she bolted towards the house, jumping over huge piles of debris on her way to her mother. 

"Mom!" She cried, approaching a part of the collapsed roof, and climbing into the house through the second story window, "Mom!"

Not a moment later, Stefan appeared beside her, and she could hear Damon crying out her mother's name as all of the chasers arrived at the damaged house. "Be careful, any sudden movements and the house could-" Stefan started. 

"I know," she finished, observing that Stefan was holding a flashlight out in front of her. She quickly thanked him and took it from his hands as they walked through her mother's wrecked bedroom. All of her things were tossed about recklessly, her bed had been turned the wrong way, the television hung in a precarious position above the massive hole in the floor where the hallway used to be, and her jewelry that Caroline had been messing with earlier was seen everywhere on the floor. 

"Where the hell is she?" Caroline asked no one in particular, "Mom! Mom!"

"Shhh!" Stefan whispered, pressing a finger to his wife's lips, "Do you hear that?"

The blonde listened for a moment, then she heard what sounded like a dog barking. Her mom’s golden retriever, Moes. "Moes!" She cried, cautiously approaching the gaping hole that led to what was once the first floor, and shining her flashlight down. She didn't see anything at first, but then her flashlight caught the barking golden retriever, and followed him as he ran over to where her mother lay on the floor, buried underneath a fallen shelf with blood pouring out of a wound to her head. 

"Oh my god," Caroline panted, slowly lowering herself into the hole, using a fallen shelf to climb down, "Stefan, give me a hand!"

Her companion quickly obliged, and assisted her in climbing down to her injured mother, then helping himself down shortly after. The two then began the process of removing the very heavy shelf off of Liz, who opened her eyes, groaned, and squinted into the light. 

"Oh, thank god you're alive," Caroline said shakily, "I thought you were dead."

Liz slowly sat up, "I'm fine," she assured her daughter, "I'm telling you, I'm fine."

Caroline gently touched the wound on her mother's head, "Your head, you're not fine," she observed, "what happened?"

The elder Forbes sighed, "I had no warning, by the time the sirens went off, the twister was already here, and I was halfway down the stairs, when... when it hit... I..."

Caroline shushed her mother, and wrapped her arms around her, "It's gonna be okay, we're going to get you out of here."

The house made a sudden creaking noise, and Stefan immediately knelt down beside the mother-daughter pair. “We’ve got to get out of here, this house is going to go any second now,” he said urgently. He held out his hand to Liz, then he and Caroline slowly helped her stand up, and begin to walk out of the battered house. 

They were almost clear, when suddenly the television that had been hanging loosely by a wire above their heads came barreling down on them, crashing violently into the already beaten support structures of the house. Stefan, Caroline, and Liz watched in horror as the second floor collapsed another foot around them. Liz let out a scream, and Moes barked as the commotion ended, and the dust began to settle. 

“Let’s move!” Stefan cried, ushering Liz up to the exit as swiftly as he could, turning around only briefly to give Caroline a hand out of the wreckage. The three of them slowly climbed their way out the window, and were greeted by their full team of storm chasers. 

“Liz!” Damon’s excited voice called out, wrapping his arms around her as she climbed out of the window, Caroline close behind her. 

The woman let out a delighted laugh, “My boys!” she replied, in the same excited tone as she exchanged hugs with everyone before they led her into an ambulance. “Oh, why are you doing that? I’m fine!” She exclaimed as they sat her down on a gurney.

Matt leaned over her and smiled, “Sheriff, you hit your head pretty bad,” he told her. 

The former sheriff groaned, then allowed the ambulance workers to take her into the ambulance, but not before she called out to Stefan, who was still by the house, “Stefan! Grab Moes for me!”

Stefan gave her a wave, then he dove back into the house, and worked to rescue the dog. 

Caroline was waiting outside for him when he got back, and they began to walk towards the ambulance together, when suddenly the house finally collapsed entirely into a thousand pieces. The noise of crunching glass and snapping wood echoed throughout the neighborhood. Her mother’s house was gone. They’d gotten out in the nick of time.  
As soon as the commotion ended, Caroline rushed into the ambulance to be by her mother’s side. She’d have to miss whatever storms the insane storm system had to throw at them next. Nothing was worth losing her mother. Nothing. 

“Caroline, what are you doing?” Liz asked as the doctors began to examine her. 

“I’m staying with you,” her daughter replied, “I have to, I need to know you’re okay.”

Her mother gave her a smile, then gestured for her to sit by her side, and she obliged, sitting down next to Liz, and taking her hand with the same smile on her face. 

Outside the ambulance, all of Caroline’s friends waited patiently to see what she’d do. They didn’t want to leave without her, though they all knew it was far more likely that she’d go to the hospital with Liz. That was the kind of person she was. She’d pass up the most magnificent of storms if anyone she loved was in danger. 

It reminded Stefan of that time many years ago when he had gotten in a car accident, and wound up hospitalized. Caroline wouldn’t leave his side no matter how much he insisted, and she missed one of the biggest tornadoes she’d ever chased. 

~~~

“… God, Caroline, you should’ve seen it,” Damon breathed, “The funnel was fucking huge! The damage path was a whole mile wide!”

She let out a laugh as she squeezed Stefan’s hand, and looked up at his brother, “I’m sure it was great, but you know my rules,” she replied, “I don’t leave anyone behind. I had to stay with him. I’m sure you got some great pictures though, right?”

The elder Salvatore scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, I left them with Bonnie, she took the camera to develop the pictures, should be done by now… I’ll go check.”

And with that, Damon had left Stefan and Caroline alone, and with a wink, he closed the door behind him. Caroline closed her eyes, and examined her husband’s broken wrist. “God, I can’t believe this happened to you,” she muttered, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

He reached up with his free hand, and smiled, “Caroline, I’m fine, you know I would’ve been fine with you going out with them,” he told her, “You didn’t have to stay behind because of me.”

“In sickness and in health,” she reminded him, gingerly pressing a kiss on his lips. 

He smiled into the kiss, and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, then he briefly broke away from her. She frowned, and he chuckled lightly, “Did Damon close the door on his way out?” He asked cheekily. 

His wife nodded, “I think he did,” she responded in the same cheeky tone as her husband. Then she climbed onto the hospital bed, and straddled Stefan, making sure not to touch his broken wrist as she leaned down and kissed him again, but more intensely this time, the kissing becoming full blown making out in a matter of seconds. 

Stefan wasn’t sure exactly when Caroline’s top was gone, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. The pain drugs combined with just being in her presence made him simply euphoric. He also wasn’t sure when and how she got his hospital gown off of him, since Caroline’s lips provided an excellent distraction, but he certainly remembered every single detail of what happened next.

They both giggled as Stefan’s one functioning hand reached around her back, and attempted to unclasp her bra. The giggling became cackling as Stefan’s fumbling fingers struggled with the clasp, and he eventually gave up, and looked up at her hopelessly. 

“You tried!” Caroline laughed out, “You really tried!”

He shook his head in embarrassment, then she gave him a grin… Before she reached around and undid it herself. 

~~~~

The sound of the ambulance driving away shook Stefan out of his thoughts, which quickly shifted to surprise, because standing before him was Caroline Forbes. She was standing there where the ambulance had been, staring after it as it drove away. 

“Caroline?” He whispered, tapping her on the shoulder, “Are you alright?”

She sighed, “Yeah,” she replied, facing him, “I’m fine.” She looked away from Stefan, and stared intently at something behind him. 

Confused, Stefan turned around, and followed her gaze. She was staring at the garden fixture that was somehow still standing in Liz’s front yard, watching its silver blades turn and spin in the light breeze, ever so slightly resembling the twisters they chased frequently. “What? What is it?” He asked. 

She turned back at him and smiled, “I know how to make Dorothy fly.”


	8. Dorothy vs. F5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter that actually follows events that happened in the movie, and the next chapter will be the last one. This is also the chapter that I've been looking forward to writing the most. You'll see why.

Twister AU 8:

Stefan looked on at the miraculously standing garden fixture, and he too watched as it spiraled upwards, its silver pieces catching the light. At that moment, he realized the exact same thing that Caroline had. “Of course,” he breathed, “of course!”

His wife turned around and smiled at him, before running towards where the rest of the team had gathered by their various vehicles. “Alright!” she shouted, “I need every piece of aluminum we can find!”

Upon hearing her orders, Bonnie, Klaus, Alaric, and Tyler ran off into the damaged city to find aluminum. The others stayed behind to hear what Stefan had to say. 

He was right behind Caroline, also shouting out orders at the chasers. Stefan the storm chaser was back, evil Stefan had risen from the dead. “We need cutters and duct tape!” he told the crew, “Matt, Damon, Rebekah, I want the last of the Dorothys on the back of my truck, and I want everyone working on it.”

“Consider it done, brother,” Damon said, grabbing the other two and getting to work moving the Dorothys from inside of his van to the bed of Stefan’s truck. 

As everyone set off to work, Stefan looked down at Caroline, “You stayed,” he observed, “Why didn’t you go off with your mom?”

The blonde sighed, “I was going to,” she confessed, “I was set to go, but then Damon appeared in the ambulance doors, and he said that the NSSL’s predicted an F5, and my mom insisted that I go. Everything in me was telling me that this was where I needed to be. And I just know it was the right call.”

Stefan gave her a small smile, “So do I,” he replied, caressing Caroline’s cheek for the first time since they filed for divorce. 

She looked up at him, and instantly something seemed to change between them. It was like someone had recorded an explosion and played the tape backwards so one could watch everything come back together again. It was that moment that they both realized that they were truly back. 

Stefan’s hand never left her cheek, and she felt his thumb stroke it as they began to move closer to one another, both of their hearts beating faster and faster by the moment, until all of a sudden Caroline put her hand on his chest, “Wait,” she said, “What about Elena? You said she left, but—”

He shook his head, “She left, and I didn’t stop her,” he explained, “I didn’t want to.”

Caroline grinned and looked back into his eyes, “Okay, but,” she leaned even closer to him, until their lips were almost touching, “You can kiss me when Dorothy flies.” Then she pulled away, and ran off to work on the various tasks they had set out to do, leaving him a little stunned, and very determined. 

The next morning the gang set out again, determined that this would be the day Dorothy finally flew. After all those years of heartache, they’d finally achieve their goal. They’d woken at five in the morning. Each of them had had two hours of sleep, maybe less, but they were resilient. They had to do this.

Everyone swiftly packed their things into their respective vehicles, and set to work on finding the enormous twister that was predicted for the day. Matt found a storm just thirty miles south of Wakita that looked promising, and the gang had immediately headed out to catch what would likely be the twister of a lifetime. They could only pray that Katherine didn’t get there first. 

When they finally did arrive, they found an enormous, blackened twister swirling a few miles ahead of them, the sun somehow still shining down on the crew despite the stormy conditions just ahead. Cars honked their horns at them as they drove straight towards the massive funnel, not realizing the purpose they had heading in that direction.

As they approached, Caroline picked up the radio as Stefan drove them smoothly down the road, “Damon, you ready for us?” she asked, referring to the newly aluminum fan attached-sensors. That had been her idea. In order for Dorothy’s sensors to fly, they needed fans to be picked up by the twisters wind so they’d successfully fly into the funnel. 

“Yeah, yeah we’re good,” Damon replied in his van, looking in his front mirror as Bonnie and Matt finished putting the last pieces of aluminum on the last sensors, and gave him the thumbs up signal. 

“Alright, Damon, we’re going to pull over on this bridge up ahead, and do the transfer,” Stefan said, taking the radio from Caroline’s hands. 

The entire crew pulled over, and Stefan and Caroline immediately rushed out of the truck and ran for Damon’s van. Everyone else hopped out of their vehicles, too, and rushed to grab the boxes full of sensors from Damon’s van. In just under three minutes, working together, they finished the task of filling the last two Dorothys to the brim with the new sensors. 

“Beautiful,” Damon commented as they finished, wrapping his arms around his brother, “It’s an F5, so… Don’t die or I’ll kill you.”

Stefan laughed, “I’d like to see you try,” he replied, giving his brother a pat on the back, and then jumping up onto the truck bed to close the lids on the Dorothys. 

Everyone else rushed in to hug their leaders before they risked their lives with this monster of a storm. 

“Great job, guys,” Tyler said as everyone broke away, “Just be careful, alright?”

Caroline nodded as she walked back to the passenger side of the truck, “Don’t follow us too close behind, okay?”

“You got it boss,” Klaus replied.

“Okay,” Rebekah added.

Damon banged on his van, “Alright, we’re back in business!” He shouted. The chasers let out a triumphant cheer, and everyone rushed back to their cars. “Come on Matt, Bon Bon, let’s move!”

Within minutes, the crew was on the road again, Stefan and Caroline leading their group by half a mile, approaching the storm at a cautious speed, and staring at it in sheer awe as it got closer and closer. Soon, it was almost too close for comfort. “What do you think?” Caroline asked, “Half a mile more?”

Stefan nodded, “That sounds right, I figure we’ll put it in the middle of the road.”

“Are you sure someone won’t hit it?”

“No one will be there.”

They watched as the twister moved onto the road in front of them, the sound of it deafening even with the windows rolled up. Stefan slammed on the breaks. Their half a mile had arrived. “Alright, let’s move!” he cried.

He and Caroline rushed out of the truck, and worked faster than they ever had before to remove Dorothy III from the back. They somehow managed to do it all in under a minute, and before they knew it, they were closing the truck bed, and rushing back inside. Stefan put the truck in reverse, and instantly backed them up a few hundred yards while Caroline grabbed the camera, and prepared to record their historic victory.

Stefan grabbed the radio, “Damon, are you in position?” he asked his older brother.

“Fuck yes! We’re primed and ready for contact!”

Stefan laughed, and backed the truck up a good quarter mile away from where they’d dropped Dorothy, then he and Caroline opened the doors, and leaned out of the truck to watch. Their historic victory was just seconds away, and he’d never felt so alive. He glanced across the truck’s rooftop at Caroline, who was smiling as she opened the camera, and began to record. 

“This is it Stefan,” she said excitedly, “It’s going to work.”

She briefly leaned down to speak into the radio, “This is it Damon! Just one more minute!”

“We’re ready for it!” He replied over the radio. 

Then they all watched as the twister approached Dorothy. At first, it appeared as if the storm would just pop the lid off of the capsule and take all the sensors and the chasers’ troubles away with them. Unfortunately, all the tornado was doing so far was sliding their machine back and forth across the road a few times. 

“Come on, take her!” Caroline cried, feeling frustration grow as the storm refused to pick up Dorothy. 

Stefan shook his head, “It’s too light!”

“No it’s not!”

Dorothy slid back and forth across the road again, and Caroline felt her hopes for it slipping away.

“We’re losing it!” Stefan shouted. 

“No! She can still fly! She’s got to!”

Suddenly an uprooted tree flew out of the twister, and made a beeline for Dorothy. Stefan and Caroline could only watch in bitter disappointment as the tree slammed into their life’s work, and spilled its hundreds of sensors all over the empty road. 

They both looked down and sighed, letting the sense of sadness wash over them for a moment. It was a moment too long, for next thing they knew, the very same tree that killed Dorothy III was heading right for them. They didn’t have enough time to back up, only enough to secure themselves in the truck again as the tree slammed into them, lifting the back of the truck up onto its trunk. 

As if things couldn’t be going badly enough for them at the moment, the twister had shifted its course, and was now heading straight for them. 

“Oh my god,” Caroline breathed, feeling a sense of panic seep into her veins. 

“Fuck,” Stefan muttered. 

They both stared in horror as the twister ahead of them got closer, and closer, moving at a rather alarming speed. 

“Get us off of this thing!” Caroline cried, unable to take her eyes off of the deadly spectacle in front of them. 

“I’m trying!” Stefan shouted in the same panicked tone. He floored the gas in a futile effort to get them off of the tree, but it was no use. There was seemingly nothing he could do.

“What the hell is that?” Caroline asked suddenly, pointing into the twister where something metallic appeared to be making its way out from the twisters clutches.

Stefan looked up at the same object that Caroline was seeing, “What is that?” 

Neither of them could figure out what it was, but it was huge, and it seemed to be headed their way. Stefan once again floored the gas, praying that somehow they’d be able to get off of the stupid tree. 

At that moment, they both realized what it was. The powerful F5 ahead of them had managed to pick up a tank truck full of many gallons of gasoline. If that landed on them, it would explode and kill them instantly. 

The two only panicked more as they continued to try in vain to get off of the branch. By the time they looked back up at the tanker, it was practically on top of them. They both closed their eyes, and prepared for the worst, but all the tanker did was bump into them with just enough force to knock them off of the branch. 

Laughing with delight, Stefan immediately floored it and drove rapidly away from the encroaching twister. “We did it!” he cried, grabbing Caroline’s hand and hoisting it high in the air. 

His victory didn’t last long, because mere seconds later, the giant tanker truck appeared in front of them, and slammed down onto the road, exploding in a massive fireball. “Holy shit!” Caroline shouted as they drove straight through it, the heat seeping through the enclosed truck, and the light nearly blinding them both. 

Somehow, they made it out of the fireball alive, and continued on their track away from the hell storm. As soon as they were out, Stefan screamed, “Son of a bitch!” at no one in particular. 

They both jumped a moment later when Damon’s voice rang through the radio, “Stefan! Caroline! Did you see that fireball?”

“We saw it,” Caroline deadpanned, still feeling pretty frazzled by the whole ordeal.

The next voice to come over their radio was Matt’s, with an important announcement, “She’s still moving east on 80, do you copy?” 

Stefan looked over at Caroline, then spared a side glance at the final Dorothy resting in the bed of his truck. “This is it,” he said, “Last one.”

She looked at him, “The last time,” she said, grabbing onto his right hand, “we can do this.”

Her husband focused his eyes back on what was in front of him, and observed a group of black vans driving a block away on the road running parallel to his, heading in the opposite direction as he was. Katherine was here. “Fuck,” he whispered. 

“What, what is it?” Caroline asked. 

Stefan simply pointed, and his wife looked out the window, only to be thoroughly disappointed, “Oh, great.”

“They had to be here somewhere,” Stefan replied.

Suddenly, Katherine’s voice appeared on the radio, “Okay, path is stable, copy?” she asked her crew, “This is it! This is the one! Stay sharp back there!”

Stefan sighed, “They could make it,” he muttered. 

“Not unless they anchor the pack,” Caroline replied.

“They still might.”

Caroline shook her head, then picked up the radio in the truck she and Stefan were driving, “Katherine?” She called out, “Katherine, this is Caroline, can you hear me?”

A chuckle sounded over the radio a second later, “Not now, Forbes.”

The blonde ignored her, “Katherine, listen to me,” she begged, “the pack is too light, you have to anchor it. The twister will toss it before it reaches the core.”

“Oh,” Katherine purred, “Sharing valuable information with me, Caroline?” There was a pause before she picked up her radio again, “I’ll consider that, thank you.”

“Katherine, listen to me! Don’t be a—”

She stopped talking when she saw the look on Stefan’s face as he peered out into the distance to look at where Katherine and her crew were. It appeared as if her crew was standing behind while she and Elijah plowed ahead in order to claim the victory. At least, that’s what she assumed since she’d lost sight of Katherine’s van. 

“What is it, Stefan?” Caroline asked, “Can you see them?”

Stefan took the radio out of her hands, “Katherine, what’s your position?” he asked, turning the truck around so that they were running parallel to the twister, which had changed its course once again. 

“Well, hello, Stefan,” she said, “We are heading northeast running parallel and about to pull ahead of it on the left, why?”

Stefan looked up at the twister, and his incredibly good view of it as he and Caroline approached it again, “Hang back for a minute,” he told Katherine, “We’ve got a pretty good view from back here. She could shift her track, and if she does she’s going to come right at you. Do you copy?”

Elijah’s voice came over the radio, “Maybe we should do what he says,” he was telling Katherine, “He’s never put us in harm’s way.”

Katherine scoffed, “When I want your opinion, I’ll ask you for it,” she replied cruelly, “Now step on the gas, and keep on this path.”

Stefan picked up the radio, now seriously concerned that Katherine was about to make a fatal mistake, “Katherine, listen to me, this is not—”

“Get off this frequency, Stefan!” She shouted at him before he heard her radio go silent. 

Caroline threw a worried look in his direction, then she looked at the twister, and their worst fears seemed to unfold before their eyes once again, “It’s shifting,” She observed. 

Stefan decided to try one last time to save Katherine’s life, “Katherine, I’m telling you,” he pleaded her, “Elijah, I know you can hear me! Turn that thing around!”

Suddenly, Katherine and Elijah could be heard screaming as the twister bore down on them, and the last thing they heard from the radio was the sound of something slamming through the glass before it went dead on their end. From there, they watched Katherine’s van rise high into the air, and then slam back down on the ground in another fiery explosion. 

Caroline gasped as she watched, horrified that she’d just seen Klaus and Rebekah’s brother, and their former friend die. 

“Damn it!” Stefan cried, slamming his hand into the steering wheel, “Stupid.”  
Caroline put a hand on his shoulder, “We tried, there was nothing we could do,” she reassured him, “She always was too stubborn. We’ll have to tell Klaus and Rebekah about Elijah later. We’ve got to focus right now.”

Before they could say anything more on the subject, Matt’s voice came over the radio, “Stefan, Caroline, ground speed is still increasing. Get ahead of it as fast as you can or she’s going to bury you!”

Stefan pressed on the accelerator as they passed by a tractor shop. They truly were in Oklahoma. 

Suddenly, various large chunks of tractor were being thrown at them by the twister, causing Stefan to nearly swerve off of the road in an attempt to avoid them. 

“Debris!” Caroline cried into the radio, “Matt, we have debris!”

“No shit!” Stefan added. 

“GO RIGHT!” Caroline screamed, beginning to instruct him as he navigated through the raining debris. 

“LEFT!”

He swerved again. 

“RIGHT!”

“LEFT!”

“DUCK!” She cried as a tire from the tractor shop they’d passed bumped into their window, then lazily fell off as they sped ahead. 

“Jesus Christ,” Stefan breathed, “What else can this thing throw at us?”

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Caroline panted as she looked ahead, where the twister had pushed a small house onto the road. There was no way around it. They’d have to go through it. 

Stefan glanced at his wife nervously, “Are you ready?” He asked. 

“No,” she replied worriedly.

“Neither am I!” He cried, then they both screamed as they crashed through the house, driving through its rooms and up its stairs as they zoomed through it, praying they wouldn’t be stuck inside. 

Mercifully, they emerged on the other side, and kept driving down the road ahead of the twister. “Maybe we should get off of this road,” Stefan suggested. 

Caroline nodded, “I think you’re right.”

Stefan turned onto another road, making sure that the twister was still close enough to them that they could successfully deploy the final Dorothy. “We should be safer here,” he told his wife. 

“Yeah, safe,” she replied sarcastically, “That thing back there is totally not going to kill us.”

He felt himself smile as they drove by a large cornfield, and looked out at the farm and the house that lay directly in the twister’s path. The people that lived there were about to lose everything. Hopefully, what he, Caroline, and their team were about to do would change that. No one would ever have to go through that kind of loss again.

That’s when Damon’s voice came over the radio, “Stefan, Caroline, are you guys okay?” he asked worriedly. Evidently, he’d seen their encounter with the house just a minute earlier. 

Caroline picked up the radio, “Yeah, we’re fine,” she responded, “We’re getting ready to deploy the final Dorothy in this cornfield here. The storm’s looking to hit it head on. Are you guys set up?”

“Hell yeah, we’re set. Let’s do this!”

Stefan looked over at Caroline, “Are you ready?” He asked. 

She smiled at him, then she turned around, and opened the window to the truck bed before hopping on it, and turning on their last Dorothy. “Please, please, please work,” she whispered to herself before climbing back in.

“She on?”

“Uh huh.”

“Fantastic.”

“Stefan, how are we going to anchor it? We tried dropping it off earlier and that didn’t work. What are we going to do?”

He glanced at her one last time before turning left into the cornfield, where the twister was now eating away at cornstalks. The truck made a beeline for the twister, but as they got closer, Stefan slowed down, and explained what they were going to do to Caroline. 

The other chasers, meanwhile, had pulled up alongside that same road Stefan and Caroline had been on just a moment before, and begun recording video footage of the encounter. Bonnie, Matt, Alaric, and Tyler had set up their computers, too, which were ready to receive the data that Dorothy was about to record. 

“Where are they?” Matt shouted over the winds, “I can’t see them!”

Klaus tapped Matt on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’re tracking them,” he told his friend, “But the speed is still increasing.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bonnie commented, suddenly feeling worried for her friends’ safety. 

“They’ll be okay, Bon Bon,” Damon replied, flinging an arm around her shoulder, “They’re going to be more than okay, they’re about to be fucking legends. They’re going to punch the core!”

As the chasers waited in anticipation, Stefan and Caroline made their final approach on the twister. They looked nervously at each other, then Caroline reached over, and squeezed his hand one last time before laughing anxiously, “You ready?” she asked. 

Stefan nodded, “Yeah, just let me set it to cruise control,” he replied, doing as he’d said, “Alright, we’re good.”

“On three?” Caroline asked.

“On three, go!”

They unbuckled their seatbelts, and threw open the truck doors, holding on tightly so they didn’t fall prematurely. They stared intently at the dark twister ahead of them, the wind nearly blowing them backwards as they continued their trek towards the belly of the beast.

“Ready?” Stefan shouted.

“Ready!”

“One! Two! Three! Jump!”

They flung themselves away from the truck, both landing harshly on their sides before scrambling to their feet, and finding each other again. Stefan held Caroline in his arms as they watched his and Elena’s truck head into the storm. 

Caroline pointed excitedly at the truck, watching as Dorothy stood strongly, not wavering at all as she marched into battle. “Go! GO! GO! GO!” she cried excitedly.

At last, Dorothy’s lid opened, and the hundreds of sensors flew into the air, propelled by the aluminum placed on them hours earlier, and flew directly into the twister. 

“YES!” Stefan shouted, fist pumping the air, before picking Caroline up, and spinning her around as they both cheered proudly. 

“WE DID IT!” She screamed.

As Stefan and Caroline were celebrating, so were their friends, who watched triumphantly as the orange truck was lifted off of the ground, and the sensors were sucked up into the vortex. 

“Dorothy’s flying!” Damon cried, “She’s really flying!”

All of the chasers let out cheers of victory. At last, they had won. Their hard work was paying off, and they were about to make history. 

“We’re going to be popular,” Matt said happily, “Very popular.”

As the cheers of victory continued, Bonnie, who had been behind the computers up until that point, ran outside with a wide smile on her face, “We’re receiving readings already!” she cried, “It’s a success!”

“Ha ha!” Damon exclaimed, taking Bonnie’s face in his hands and bringing his lips to hers in a kiss that was a long time coming. 

In her excitement, Bonnie kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, and standing on the balls of her feet to reach him better. He grinned against her lips, then continued kissing her like there was no tomorrow until someone said something that completely ruined the moment. 

“You lot, it’s about to shift northeast,” Klaus pointed out, completely ruining the victorious moment the crew had just shared. 

Bonnie and Damon broke away from each other instantly, and Damon ran for his radio to try and warn Stefan and Caroline that they were in serious danger. “Stefan, Caroline! You’ve got to get out of there! Do you copy?!”

There was no answer, but little did he know that Stefan and Caroline were already very much aware of their situation, and they knew exactly how much trouble they were in.

Stefan and Caroline were still out in the cornfield, celebrating even after Dorothy and the truck had faded into oblivion. They were so wrapped up in their victory that they almost didn’t notice that the monstrous storm was now heading towards them, and they were in serious danger. 

“Oh no,” Stefan breathed as soon as he noticed it, “Run!” He nudged Caroline in the opposite direction, and then the two of them ran as swiftly as they could away from the twister. 

They ran through the corn field, each of them running on pure adrenaline as they ran for their lives, shoving corn out of their way as they went. The field seemed to go on forever, and the tornado seemed to be getting closer and closer. Caroline screamed as they ran on and on, until finally they broke out of the field, and was running up a hill. 

On top of the hill was a barn, and Stefan and Caroline didn’t hesitate to head straight for it, holding tightly to each other’s hands as they rushed for what looked like their last hope for safety. 

Caroline reached it first, and she hurriedly undid the clasp holding the door closed, then pulled as hard as she could to force the door open against the twister’s winds. “Gah!” she grunted, pulling even harder before the door finally gave way, and opened so harshly that it slammed into the outer wall of the barn. “Come on!” she commanded her husband before they both ran in, and he struggled to close the door behind them. 

Once inside, they both took a breath, and cleared the dirt off of their faces before they looked around the barn, and saw that it was not full of horses or pigs, or maybe a cellar, but it was full of sharp tools and weapons. It was full of things that would fly around and kill them easily once the twister got its swirling hands on it. 

“Stay down,” Stefan cautioned her. 

“Oh my god, who are these people?” Caroline inquired. 

Stefan shook his head, “We’re not staying here, we’ll be killed,” he said, “Come on, let’s move!” 

He took her hand and they dashed to the exit on the other side of the farm, making their way out just in time, for at that moment, the twister reached the barn’s entrance, and began tearing it apart. 

They instantly continued running away from the twister, only looking back a few times to see how far away it was. The twister kept throwing copious amounts of debris at the couple, including a large piece of the barn’s roof that narrowly missed their heads. They both screamed, and ducked before continuing to run.

That’s when they spotted their second hope for shelter. A small pump house that was barely bigger than a couple of portable toilets. A pump house that was likely full of sturdy pipes that wouldn’t budge unless someone dropped a bomb on them, and pipes that could easily survive a tornado. They could protect them from the storm.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Caroline shouted, pointing in the direction of the pump house. Stefan didn’t protest as they continued running for it, both of them panting hard as they approached their last chance for safety. 

When they finally got there, the two of them struggled to open the door, causing them to scream out in fright as the twister got closer and closer. It was almost close enough to sweep them off of their feet. 

Eventually, Stefan managed to get it open, and he immediately ushered Caroline inside, and closed the door behind him. Not that it would do them much good, but he certainly felt a little safer with the sound of the twister being dimmed down for the moment. 

He looked around the tiny room, and his eyes landed on a few pipes that descended into the ground, which was exactly what he’d been looking for. 

Caroline leaned against the wall of the pump house, “Stefan, now what?” She asked hopelessly.

He glanced at the pipes, “These must go down at least thirty feet, if we can anchor to them, we might have a chance,” he said, “Cause I’m not dying before I get to see what happened when Dorothy flew, or before you and I can…”

Caroline smiled, and didn’t even hesitate to search for something that could tie them to the pipes. She quickly found a few sturdy looking raw hide straps that seemed long enough to tie them both down to the pipe. “You can tell me everything when we survive this,” she told him, handing him the straps and kissing him on the cheek. 

He quickly set to work tying the straps around their waists, then as tightly as he could to the pipe. Stefan finished his work just as the twister began to bear down on them. “Hold on tight!” He cried. 

Caroline gripped the pipes harder than she’d ever gripped anything in her life, and looked up as the deafening twister ripped away the roof panels, then the walls, and then at last she and Stefan were lifted into the air, still holding tightly onto the pipes for dear life, praying that none of the storm’s debris hurt them. 

It was all incredibly terrifying, yet something about it left them both awestruck as they stared up at the funnel and its almost infinite majesty. They were able to see the swirl of the vortex, and the sky high above them at the top of the twister. It was breathtaking. It was the most beautiful thing either of them had ever seen.

This was the moment that made it all worth it. This was truly it. It made all of their years of heartbreak worth it. Caroline didn’t regret a single second of it. Not even the worst of it.  
~~~~~~~~  
“You just don’t get it, Stefan!” Caroline cried from their bedroom, “Not everything is about you!”

He scoffed at her as he strode back in the room with her, “Not everything is about me? You think I’m making this about me! Look in the mirror, Caroline. Maybe you’ll see the real reason why this didn’t work out.”

“Oh, you’re so full of shit! If that’s what you think, then march your cocky ass over to the court and file for a fucking divorce!”

Stefan stood silent for a moment, “I…” he whispered, “I… I... Maybe I should. We aren’t happy anymore, Caroline.” He sat down on their bed, feeling tears rise to his eyes.

His wife shook her head, “No, no,” she whimpered, “I didn’t mean it. It was one of those stupid things you say when you get really angry, and I just… I didn’t mean it!” She burst into tears, and began sobbing into her hands. 

“We’ve got to stop kidding ourselves,” Stefan said shakily as a tear made its way down his cheek, “It’s over. We don’t even… We don’t even act like friends anymore, Caroline, look at what we’ve become.”

Caroline sobbed even harder, and sat down on the bed beside him, allowing him to take her in his arms, and comfort her one last time as her husband.  
~~~~~~~~~~

That night had truly been the worst storm she’d ever faced. Now a real storm had somehow brought them back together, and fixed the distance between them, and created Caroline’s new favorite memory. Dorothy flying was absolutely incredible, but this was the moment that they’d both look on in the years to come and think of it as the best moment in their lives.

Then they watched as the storm began to dissipate around them. The winds slowed, the vortex began to stop turning, and it eventually disappeared altogether. The swirling black mass slowly gave way to gray clouds, which gave way to blinding sunlight.

The sun shone through the fading clouds on the newly reunited couple, and they beamed at each other as they sat under the pipes, which were now leaking water all over them. Apparently one of them had burst during the deceased twister’s reign of terror. 

They were both still panting as they laughed with delight. They had survived the monstrous twister, and they were finally safe. 

“You alright?” Caroline asked, looking her husband up and down. 

Stefan nodded, “Yeah,” he replied, caressing her cheek, “I am.” Then he began to lean in to give his wife a long awaited kiss, but was interrupted by the sound of Van Halen playing through someone’s speakers. Their crew had found them. 

The couple laughed with delight, then they stood up, and untied themselves from the pipe as their team approached on the nearby road. They waved eagerly at the other chasers, catching their attention, and causing them to pull over onto the nearby grass. 

Caroline looked at Stefan, “We did it,” she said proudly.

“Dorothy finally flew.”

She nudged him gently, “It was a really good idea.”

He grinned, “Well, I—”

“Oh, god, we’ve got so much to do! I've got to get grant approvals for a new warning system, we need a bigger lab, you've got to do an analysis of all that data…”

Stefan leaned back, “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he protested, “You’re doing the analysis, and I’m going to run the lab.”

Caroline lightly punched his arm, “No you’re not,” she replied, “We all know who’s better at being in charge.”

He shook his head, “Do you always have to do things the hard way?” He asked endearingly. 

By that time, the other members of their crew had approached them. “Holy shit!” they heard Matt cry, “That was the biggest twister ever recorded!”

Caroline laughed, “Believe me, we noticed,” she told him, pointing to the destroyed pump house. 

The rest of the crew joined them in their laughter. “Best part is, we got it,” Bonnie announced, “The sensors picked up everything, we’ve got data coming out of our ears!”

“Awesome, Bon,” Damon replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and pressing a kiss to her head, “Hey, Stefan, Caroline, have you guys looked at the sky?”

Caroline didn’t even look up, “You know what? I think we’ve seen enough,” She replied, turning towards Stefan, and kissing him passionately. 

The chasers cheered them on as Caroline wrapped her arms around Stefan’s neck, and gripped his hair in one of her hands as he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist as they finally had their victory kiss. 

“Yeah!” Damon shouted, “Get it, brother!”

Stefan reached his hand out, and flipped his brother off as he continued to kiss his wife. 

He broke the kiss for just a moment, and leaned his head against hers, “I told you I’d always be there for you,” he whispered. 

“Shut up, and kiss me,” she commanded him.

Stefan chuckled, and once again pressed his lips onto hers as they basked in their victory. 

In that moment, he was very thankful for the twister that swept away his divorce papers. It had finally given him the life he truly wanted, the life he was meant to life. A life with Caroline Forbes.

The End.


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story finally ends.

Caroline woke up with the sunlight shining through her window, and Stefan’s heartbeat in her ears. She looked up from where she was resting on his bare chest at his sleeping form, and smiled. They’d been together happily ever since Dorothy flew, and they had gotten the grant for a new warning system.

Nothing could tear them apart now. Once the dust had settled, and they had time to recover from the storms that had nearly killed them, she and Stefan had sat down, and truly talked about their relationship. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

“We can’t just hide our problems from each other anymore,” she told Stefan, “We’ve got to be honest, and face them head on.”

He’d nodded, sitting down on her living room couch as he watched her speak, “Agreed,” he replied, “What else are we missing?”

“I think we’ve covered everything,” she breathed, taking his hands in hers, “So, if you’re really, truly back, then I’m ready. I am beyond ready.”

Stefan stood up, and kissed her, grateful to be back in her arms once again. “I swear to you, I’ll never let you down like that again,” he promised her, “Never.”

She smiled, “Good, now we need to talk about where we’re going to live…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They’d decided to live in Caroline’s apartment in Oklahoma City. Stefan had little desire to see the apartment he’d shared with Elena again. He only returned a few times to pick up his things, and to remove himself as one of the apartment’s owners. It had been a very awkward trip, but he’d mercifully only run into Elena one time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stefan had only one last bag to pack, when he suddenly heard the door open, and he froze. He hadn’t told Elena he was coming. He’d hoped she’d still be at work. From what he remembered of her schedule she was supposed to be gone until four. 

It was two thirty on the dot, and she was home. He decided to go out and say that he was there, not wanting to wait until she came into the bedroom for her to figure out he was in the apartment. 

“Elena?” he called out as he walked out of the room. He found her in the kitchen unpacking groceries, and not even looking at him. “Elena?”

“Hi,” she replied, looking up from her grocery bags, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m grabbing the last of my things,” Stefan told her, “I had hoped to have it done by the time you got back. I wasn’t sure if you were going to be okay seeing me or not.”

“Stefan, I told you when I left, I’m fine. I wasn’t that upset. I just wish it didn’t have to end like that.”

He nodded, then he headed back into the bedroom to finish packing his things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that, it had pretty much been smooth sailing. He and Caroline were new again, and everything was exciting. Their friendship had returned, and their romance reached new heights. So that morning when they woke up next to each other, wearing nothing but their bed sheets, they had smiles on their faces.

Ten minutes after Caroline first woke up, Stefan did. He looked down to find his wife staring up at him, and laughed, “Watching me sleep, Caroline?”

“You’re cute when you’re sleeping,” she said with a shrug. 

“You’re creepy when you’re awake,” was his response. 

Caroline lightly smacked his shoulder, and then rolled on top of him, pinning him to the mattress, and kissing him passionately. He instantly responded to the kiss, wrapping his arms around her back, and pulling her against him. 

His wife moaned against his lips, and just as the kissing was about to turn into something more, the phone on Stefan’s nightstand began to ring. 

They broke apart from the kiss, and stared at it bitterly. “Should we get it?” Caroline asked, “It could be about the data.”

“The data can wait then,” Stefan replied, lifting his head up to kiss her again. 

She scoffed, “We’ve been waiting for weeks,” she protested, reaching over for the phone, “I’m not waiting another five minutes.”

He sighed as she picked up the phone, and began to speak to whoever had interrupted their morning. 

“Hello? Damon? What are you calling us about this early in the morning?”

“It’s ten thirty, Caroline. I could ask you what you’re doing sleeping in this late.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. What’s going on?”

“I’ve got some good news… Guess what it is?”

“We’ve finished analyzing the data?”

“Ten points to Caroline Forbes! You win my love and affection as your brother-in-law, congratulations. Anyway, we need you and Stefan to get your asses over to the lab immediately. We can’t develop this warning system without you.”

“Develop the warning system later then, I’m busy,” she told him before hanging up the phone, and looking back down at her husband. 

“Where were we?” he asked innocently. 

She laughed, then resumed kissing him before they tangled the sheets even further. 

Two hours later they strode through the doors of their lab building hand in hand as they approached their crew. Smiles were wide on their faces, and a raised eyebrow appeared on Damon’s. 

“Nice hickeys, Caroline,” he commented as he handed her a file full of the analyzed data. 

She glared at him, then she stared at his neck, “I could say the same about you,” she retorted, sparing a quick glance at Bonnie.

The entire crew chuckled, then they resumed working at their desks. Caroline in the meantime began flipping through the file, getting a good read through of the full data. “Alright,” she said, “Let’s get to work!”

Throughout the next year, the chasers spent most of their time developing a good warning system that would provide storm warnings fifteen minutes before the storm actually hit. In their spare time, they still chased storms, just so they could get video footage, and so they could enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

Even more changes occurred throughout that year, one of many being that Damon and Bonnie officially began dating. It all started with that day that Caroline had pointed out his hickeys…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That day after work, Bonnie and Damon were the last two inside the building. All alone, they had decided to get a late night coffee. The only thing open was a 24 hour diner two miles away, so there they went, sitting by the window at a table for two at one in the morning on what was now a Saturday.

“Why did you invite me here?” Bonnie asked curiously as she sipped her coffee. 

“Well, Bon Bon,” Damon replied, “We’ve been friends with a little extra something on the side for about… Two months now? And… I figured I might as well make the move to make us more than… that…”

“So this is a date?” she inquired cheekily. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said with a smile, “Not bad as far as first dates go.”

“It’s definitely memorable. How many couples can say that they had their first date at one in the morning on a Saturday in a run down 24 hour diner?”

“So you’re in?”

“I’m in. All the way.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From there, things had only gotten more serious, and as Stefan and Caroline’s marriage got stronger, so did Damon and Bonnie’s relationship. They found themselves looking forward to every day of work, and genuinely enjoying every minute they got to spend together. 

One year later, they moved in together a few miles away from Stefan and Caroline, into a small, one bedroom apartment near a college. The neighbors were pretty annoying, but the place was nice enough. Damon still found himself slightly jealous of his brother’s place, though, and was sure to constantly comment his feelings.

Another thing that had changed, was that their warning system had been a success, and many states in the region of America known as “tornado alley,” had adapted it. The crew cheered when they received the statistics that tornado related deaths had dropped by fifteen percent in the months since they’d implemented it. 

The tornado ravaged neighborhoods they drove through no longer had body bags being driven off by ambulances. The only deaths were from people who found themselves stuck in their cars, or people without cellars. The majority of the people, however, were safe thanks to their work with Dorothy.

They’d successfully made a change. They had done it. All their hard work paid off better than they could’ve hoped. When the anniversary of Dorothy’s launch passed, the crew all gathered together at the diner they’d stopped at when Stefan and Elena’s truck had gotten a flat tire on their reunion day. 

Caroline had started to give a speech, holding a beer high over her head, “One year ago, we were nothing,” she said, “We were hopeless, we were just a bunch of rag-tag storm chasers with college degrees, and we were running out of grant money. Now, we’re so much more than that, and our warning system is estimated to have saved dozens of lives already.”

The people in front of her let out a collective cheer, then continued listening as their esteemed leader spoke.

The blonde in front of them felt her eyes fill with happy tears as she continued, “I- I’m sorry, it’s just, we started off as a group of college idiots chasing tornadoes, and now we’re actually respected in the scientific community. We’ve come so far, and it-it’s just…gosh, wow! Well, the point is, we did it. We won. So, excellent speech aside, here’s to us, and here’s to many more prosperous years together, until retirement.”

Everyone around her raised their own bottles, and replied, “To us,” before clinking them together, and taking a sip. 

Caroline sat down beside Stefan, and clinked her bottle against his before kissing him on the cheek, “I am so glad you came back,” she whispered. 

“Me too,” he replied, taking her hand in his under the table, and grinning as he kissed her. 

At last, they had gotten their happy ending, and not just them either. Bonnie and Damon, the rest of the crew? In the end, everyone wound up exactly where they needed to be. The painful past was finally behind them, and their future? It was brighter than ever. The storm had cleared, and they were facing pure sunshine.


End file.
